


First My Roses, Now My Heart

by RaisinOatmealCookie



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Car Accidents, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders is a Mess, First Kiss, Kissing, Literally so much goes on in this fic, M/M, Running Away, Spiders
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-12 06:27:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 21,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28505940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaisinOatmealCookie/pseuds/RaisinOatmealCookie
Summary: Virgil Blue is a high schooler who just wants life to stay simple. Just him and his dad, and his two best friends. Anything more than that would stress him out. But when he gets caught trying to steal some flowers from a stranger's garden, he's sucked into an acquaintanceship he doesn't want.Roman Prince is a theatre kid who just wants life to not be so simple. It's always been just him, his dad, his brother, and his loads of fake friends. He wants more. An actual complex life, not this Mean Girls fantasy. But when he catches someone trying to steal flowers from his garden, he feels way too drawn towards this rose thief.Updates every day (or at least I try to)
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Logic | Logan Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders
Comments: 55
Kudos: 90





	1. First My Roses

**Author's Note:**

> Please note that I don't know how things work. I'm sure that this fic is wildly unrealistic, so if you don't like that, I recommend that you don't read this.  
> But this has been my passion project since December of 2019. And I'm so glad I finally get to share this with you. So, without further ado: please enjoy First My Roses, Now My Heart.

Virgil Blue woke up at noon on a cloudy summer Saturday morning. Well, it wasn't exactly morning anymore, but Virgil always believed that, unless you've got a job and/or summer school, time was overrated during Summer vacation.

He had fallen asleep in his clothes the night before and was too lazy to change, so he just put a hoodie on over top of his shirt, and pulled some combat boots on over his socks. 

He had somewhere he needed to go, but being 15, and legally unable to drive, he, of course, had to walk. So, on the way there, every day, Virgil would walk past this house with a beautiful rose garden. He'd take some scissors with him and snip one to take with him.

Today, though, would be a little different. Virgil still took his smallest pair of scissors in his hoodie pocket and walked to the house with the rose bushes. But once he was about to take a flower, like he did every day, there was someone walking out of the house. A teen with tanned skin and dark brown hair.

"I took the trash out yesterday, Dad! Have Remus do it for _once _, please!" he said, dragging a large trash bag behind him. He dropped it after he saw Virgil. "Who are you?" he asked, eyes narrowed.__

__"I- nobody. I was just passing through," Virgil lied._ _

__"Where are you going with that flower? I've been wondering who's been taking them."_ _

__Virgil couldn't seem to speak. "I… I swear this will be the last time," he finally said. "I'm sorry, I-"_ _

__"Is it for a girl?" the boy asked._ _

__The question caught Virgil off guard. "What?"_ _

__"The flower. Is it for a girl?"_ _

__"Well, technically…" It wasn't a lie. He was giving a flower to a girl every day, but not in the way someone would've thought._ _

__"Fine. I'll let you off with a warning, as long as this girl seems good enough to warrant stealing. I need to see her for myself, of course." Then the boy gestured to an old pick-up truck. "I can drive you there, if you need, then, you have to promise never to steal my roses again."_ _

__"I… sure." Virgil shrugged._ _

__"Roman."_ _

__"What?"_ _

__"That's my name," he said, before adding, "Roman Prince."_ _

__"Oh." Virgil didn't laugh, even though he thought the name was kinda amusing._ _

__Roman scoffed, "So, are you gonna tell me your name?"_ _

__"Virgil. Virgil Blue."_ _

__"Cool. Now that we've officially introduced ourselves, shall we be off?" Roman dramatically opened the passenger seat for Virgil and bowed. Virgil couldn't help but think that he was annoyingly chivalrous. "Just tell me how to get there. You've got Google Maps, right?"_ _

__"Yeah, but I know how to get there without it."_ _

__"Great." Roman got into the driver's seat and started up the car, putting it in drive "So, what first?" he asked._ _

__Virgil fidgeted with the flower petals. "Drive to the end of the street, and turn left," he said, staring out the window._ _

__Roman drove following Virgil's instructions until they were almost there. "So, is it that neighborhood just past the cemetery?" Roman asked._ _

__"Not exactly. You can stop here."_ _

__Roman stopped the truck right outside the cemetery. "You're not going to try to murder me, are you? Because I put up a good fight, trust me."_ _

__"No, I'm not going to kill you. That's not saying that the thought hasn't crossed my mind, though." Virgil hopped out of the car and shut the door. "Are you going to follow me, or stay here?" he asked. He didn't wait for an answer before walking through the gates._ _

__Roman followed him in. The two reached one headstone that was marked, "Cassandra Gates." Virgil threw the rose down and turned back around._ _

__"Well, let's go back, now."_ _

__"Who was that?"_ _

__"My mom. Now, let's go back."_ _

__Roman sighed. "I'll drive you to your house. Just put it into the GPS."_ _

__"Fine."_ _

__Both of the boys were silent almost the whole way back. They didn't even bother to turn the radio on to fill the silence. Finally, Roman spoke up. "I'm sorry," he said shortly._ _

__"Oh?"_ _

__"I guess I shouldn't have assumed. But, to be fair, you shouldn't have stolen my flowers."_ _

__"Touché," Virgil said. "I'm sorry for taking your flowers every day." He wasn't trying to sound sincere, and it seemed as if Roman understood that._ _

__"So, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?" Roman asked. Before getting an answer, he continued. "So, you said that girl was your mom, right? Why didn't you have the same last name?"_ _

__"Well, she died when I was six," Virgil said, avoiding eye contact by looking out the window, "and I never knew my real dad, so when I got adopted by my adoptive dad a year later, I got his last name."_ _

__"So you were Virgil Gates, and now you're Virgil Blue?"  
"Yeah. My dad's pretty young. He adopted me when he was 23."_ _

__"Next question, what kind of a name is Virgil?"_ _

__"What kind of a name is Roman?"_ _

__"Fair."_ _

__"Any more questions?"_ _

__"Yeah, actually." Roman turned to him when they were at a red light. "You're one of those edgy emo kids, aren't you? I mean, the black clothes, the purple hair, the edgy black make-up; it all checks out "_ _

__"You got me. I spend my days lurking in the shadows, shopping at Hot Topic and posting lots of dark, edgy, cringe worthy poetry on my old MySpace account." Virgil said with loads of sarcasm. He smirked before adding, "And you, Roman Prince, seem to be the type of kid who would spend his time stealing everyone else's spotlight, shopping for make-up at Sephora and posting pictures of your Starbucks order on Instagram. A fricking prep."_ _

__"Mostly true. Other than the Starbucks part." He smiled a little too widely to be real. "I do love makeup, though. I just bought some highlighter yesterday, and it really adds to the-" he stopped when he looked over and noticed that Virgil was laughing. "Oh, shut up, Jack-Ass Skellington."_ _

__"Jeez, how long did it take you to come up with that one?"_ _

__"I have a large repertoire of creative insults for any occasion."_ _

__Once they got to Virgil's house, he got out of the car and smiled very un-genuinely. "Here, I've got something for you," Virgil said, before reaching into his empty pocket and pulling his hand back out with his middle finger up. "Enjoy."_ _

__"You're a bitch."_ _

__"I know," he said with a grin, before walking inside the front door, and Roman drove away._ _

__Virgil went straight to his room after going inside, and pulled some headphones on and started playing some music. He just laid on his bed doing nothing for a while, when he heard the door open and close again in the living room._ _

__"I'm home, kiddo!" It was his dad. Patton Blue was 31 years old, and had raised Virgil since age seven. He worked at the bookstore, but only during the summer, since his usual job was a librarian at their city's middle school. "I went to the store after work and got some groceries, can you put them away for me?"_ _

__"Yeah, Dad, I'm coming."_ _


	2. Typical

Roman parked the truck in the driveway of his house and when he got out, he saw his dad, Janus Prince, standing in front of the door.

"Would you mind explaining why the trash never made it into the bin?" he asked, arms crossed.

"I got sidetracked."

"You got sidetracked?" he said, mockingly. "I can't believe you, sometimes."

"Let me guess, I'm grounded?"

"You're not grounded, Roman, just… go to your room."

Roman rolled his eyes and walked past his dad into the house. His brother, Remus, was on the couch watching TV, and turned around when Roman entered. "Who dumped water on your parade float?" he said upon seeing Roman's upset state.

"Dad, obviously," Roman responded, before going up the stairs into his room. 

~~~

Roman decided to go to sleep early that night and the next morning, he checked his phone to find a text from his manager. "I'm gonna need you to come in an hour earlier, tomorrow," it said. It had been sent the night before, and Roman woke up when he usually did. So that meant that he was already an hour late.

"Shit," he said to himself, before rolling out of bed. He got ready quicker than usual, and rushed out the front door, only to find that the truck wasn't there. He sent a text to Remus, hoping that he had it.

_"Do you have the truck??" ___

___"No. I think Dad took it to the repair shop this morning. It's been acting weird, remember?" ____ _

_____"Great." ____ _ _ _

______Roman pocketed his phone and walked to work. He worked in the small coffee shop inside the bookstore, so he could at least get some coffee there._ _ _ _ _ _

______When Roman arrived, his manager, Logan Picani, was behind the counter waiting. "You're late, Roman," he said in his slightly monotonous English accent. Logan had black hair and wore a blue tie everyday, as if his job was something fancier than managing a bookstore._ _ _ _ _ _

______"I'm so sorry, I didn't get your text until this morning, and I didn't wake up until it was already too late, and my truck-"_ _ _ _ _ _

______"Stop with the excuses and just put your apron on. You're lucky that only a few people have been in here today."_ _ _ _ _ _

______"Yes, sir." Logan left to work the cash register, and Roman put on his worker's apron with his name on it and sat there waiting for a customer._ _ _ _ _ _

______After what seemed to be forever, but was really twenty minutes, someone walked in with a plastic bag. Roman couldn't see what they looked like because their back was facing him, and they had a hood on, but when they started talking with Logan, Roman instantly recognized their voice. As they started to leave, Roman called out, "Hey, look, it's Finding Emo!"_ _ _ _ _ _

______It was Virgil. He walked over to the counter and leaned on it. "Well, well, well, if it isn't the double bubble _drama _queen."___ _ _ _ _ _

________"Did you just reference a Panic! At the Disco song?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Did you just _understand _my reference to a Panic! At the Disco song?"___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Shut your mouth, My Chemical Disaster. What brings you to this part of town?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"My dad works here," he said, "and I was bringing his lunch that he forgot at home."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Wait a second…" Roman thought for a moment before snapping his fingers. "Your dad's Patton Blue, isn't he?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Yeah, that's him," Virgil said._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"I don't talk to him much, but he seems to fit the 'dad' persona."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Pretty much, yeah." Virgil wasn't looking at Roman. He seemed to be pretending to study the menu on the wall behind him so he wouldn't have to make eye contact. Roman noticed that he didn't talk much. Most of his sentences were at a maximum of ten words._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Well, I've got to get back to work," Roman said, changing the subject. "Hopefully I don't have to see you tomorrow."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"And I've got to get back to sleeping and sulking," Virgil said before leaving the store._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


	3. How Was Your First Day?

Virgil was woken up at 6 am by his alarm clock. He only got two hours of sleep, but that was normal for him. It was August, and school was starting up. He actually put on clean clothes for the first time since summer started (an exaggeration, obviously) and sat at his desk and pulled his black eyeshadow palette out of the desk drawer. 

Patton popped his head in the room and smiled. "Morning, Virgil! You almost ready?"

"Yeah, almost. Let me just finish up what I'm doing."

"No rush! The bus won't be here for another twenty minutes." Patton walked in and put a cup of coffee down on Virgil's desk. "I made you coffee! I've got to get to work, though."

"Happy to finally be back in the library?" Virgil asked.

"Well, there's a reason I chose to work at the bookstore during summer. But I still have one more part-time week there. I will miss my coworkers after it's over, though."

"You mean Logan, right?"

"I mean that I'll miss _all _my coworkers. Everyone was so nice."__

__Virgil put down his eyeshadow brush and took a sip of coffee. "Dad, you always talk about Logan every day after work," he said, "There's no way you don't have _some _sort of a relationship with the guy."___ _

____"Virgil-"_ _ _ _

____"I only mean a _friendship, _" Virgil lied. "Friendships are, _by definition _, relationships too."_____ _ _ _

________"I don't think that's what you meant at all. I swear, there's nothing between me and Logan."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Sure thing, Dad. You should probably get to work, though."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"I'll see you at four, kiddo!" Patton said before leaving._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Uh-huh. Bye." Virgil finished his coffee and scrolled through his Tumblr feed before deciding that he was just gonna head for the bus stop._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Most of the day went fairly smoothly for Virgil. He was glad that he didn't have to have gym class since he took it freshman year, so he could take one more ‘actual’ elective, so he had decided to take photography instead, which he thought would be fun. It was seventh period, though, that completely messed up his good mood._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Virgil is, by definition, a theatre kid. He doesn't like to be in the spotlight, but he does things like lighting effects, sound effects, and once in middle school he took on the role of stage manager._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________So, it was in his Theatre 2 class, that he ran into someone who, in all honesty, he should've expected._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Well, looky here! It's Emo Rapunzel!" Roman approached Virgil as he entered the room. "Didn't peg you for the kind of kid to take this class. Shouldn't you be in The Art of Being Anti-Social 101? Or perhaps Advanced Sleeping and Sulking?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Oh, screw off, Princess Sparkle Face. I'm taking this for the credits," he lied. "You, on the other hand, seem to be the perfect person for this as our school's resident spotlight stealing sparkle boy."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Ooh, ouch, Virgil, that _hurts _." Roman said, not seeming very subtle with his sarcasm.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Honestly, I'm surprised you're the only annoying person in any of my classes," Virgil muttered, before adding, "Not that anyone could be more annoying than you."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Lucky you, I've got two annoying people in my classes. You, and my brother is in my improv class."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Of course you're taking two different theatre classes. What's your third elective?" Virgil asked, "over the top chivalry for beginners?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Actually, it's Creative Writing 1, but thanks for the compliment."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Virgil scoffed and rolled his eyes. "We have very different definitions of compliments, Sir Sings A Lot."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"I actually like that one. I'm using it."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Not if I copyright it."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"It's not like I'm going to claim that I came up with it."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Whatever, double bubble drama queen." Virgil took a seat and tried to ignore his classmate by putting his headphones on._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"You already used that one," Roman pointed out, sitting next to him. "At the bookstore, remember?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

___________'Why can't I shake this guy?' _Virgil thought to himself. _'Everywhere I go, there he is.' ______ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________The class seemed to go on forever, even though all they did was go over the syllabus. Virgil wasn't paying attention at all. He was just planning to look at the "classroom rules" and required supplies at home.  
At the last bell, Virgil grabbed his backpack and practically sprinted across campus. The bus ramp was on the other side of the school and they didn't like to wait for people. Fortunately for him, when he got on the bus, the only one person seat that's always in the back was empty and he wouldn't have to sit next to anyone._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________But after he had just gotten comfortable, a taller kid came towards the back and crossed their arms. "Senior privilege," was all they said to him, but Virgil got the hint and sat in a normal seat that didn't have anyone sitting in it yet._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________And would you guess his luck? Walking down the bus aisle was Roman Prince. And out of all the seats on the bus he could've sat in, he sat right next to Virgil._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________"So, what are the odds, huh, Virge?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________"Don't you dare call me 'Virge'," Virgil said, annoyed over the fact that his whole day being messed up over the past hour. "You know that I absolutely despise you, right?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________"I assumed, but just so you know, the feeling's mutual."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________"Here's the deal, _Princey _, you don't talk to me this whole ride home," Virgil said, crossing his arms.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________"And?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________"Nope, that's it." Virgil put his headphones back on and started playing music, and Roman took out his phone and they sat together in silence until Roman's stop._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________When Virgil got home, he threw his backpack on the floor and flopped down, face first onto the bed.  
Laying there, his phone vibrated with a text notification, and he picked it up and put in his passcode._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________________'Breaking news, mice are the juice box of the vampire world.' _It was his ex-best friend from sixth grade. They didn't talk much anymore, but he would get the occasional text from him sometimes.__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

___________________'I don't have time for this, Remus.' ____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_____________________'It's fricking true and you know it!' ____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________Virgil turned his phone on silent and layed back down, head buried in his pillow. At around four, Patton came in the door with a paper bag. "Virgil!" he yelled, "I've got a surprise for you!"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________"Is it that I can move to a different school?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________"I… no," he said with a confused expression before continuing. "I got cake! Get out some plates and we can eat it."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________"Before dinner? Cool."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________After the cake was cut and put on plates, Patton and Virgil sat down at their dining room table._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________"So, how was school?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________"Do you ever get that feeling where you hate someone so much, but you can't figure out the exact reason why?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________"Not necessarily, no. Was someone rude to you?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________"No. Teasing, yes, but no more than that, and I'm perfectly fine with that. But he's just so… annoyingly… friendly?" Virgil said, unsure if that was the word he was looking for. "Like... he tries too hard to get people to like him? No, that's not it. Like he wants attention, and doesn't care if it's good or bad, I think."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________"Complicated feelings?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________"No, I just don't… know." Virgil sighed and took a bite of his cake. "All I know is that whatever he's doing, I don't like it."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________"Uh-huh. Well, what's his name?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________"You might know him, actually. Roman Prince."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________"Yeah, he worked at the bookstore." Patton scooped up some frosting off the cake's top with his fork. "Hey, wasn't that the last name your old pal Remus had?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________"I honestly don't remember, Dad. It doesn't matter." Virgil finished up his cake and put the plate in the sink. "Thanks for the cake, Dad, but I've got some supplies lists to go over."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________"Alright, kiddo."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________Virgil heard the ping of a text message and turned back around to where Patton took out his phone and smiled. He wasn't sure what had his dad so happy, but it was nice to see him relaxed._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this fic was written in 2019/early 2020, and it takes place in the 2020-2021 school year. I wrote this thinking that 2020 was just going to be another school year. So, _adds yet another thing about this fic that's unrealistic ___


	4. Suspicious

Sunday morning, Roman got up and went to the bookstore. It was his last day of work, because he wouldn't have time to audition for the school's play if he had to work part-time.

He was actually on time, for once, a rare feat, even when he drove the truck.

"Morning, Logan." Roman put on his apron and got behind the counter ready for the last day. In all honesty, he was going to miss the place. But, of course, there would always be the next summer.

"Good morning, Roman. I've got something I need to attend at three, so if you could take over, that'd be ideal."

"I mean, sure, but why can't Patton do it?" Roman asked, fully knowing the reason, but he just wanted to mess with Logan. "It's his last day, too, right? And last I checked, I'm not the most responsible person here."

"Yes, well, Patton… _also _has plans to attend at three."__

__Roman looked at Logan with a deadpan glare for a few moments before saying, "You're going on a date, aren't you?"_ _

__"What? No, I…"_ _

__"Oh, don't even act like it's a completely ridiculous thought," Roman said. "I heard you ask Patton out over the phone on your break yesterday. You sounded so flustered."_ _

__Logan looked at Roman, unamused. "Fine, you're right." He gave in before smiling. He _smiled. _And from what Roman has seen before, Logan never smiles. Ever.___ _

____"Woah, you can show emotion? What's next? I find out that you know what fun is?"_ _ _ _

____"Roman, I swear-"_ _ _ _

____"Oh, what're you gonna do?" Roman asked. "You gonna fire me, wannabe bougie wolverine?"_ _ _ _

____"Bougie- what?"_ _ _ _

____"Wolverine. You know, Logan from X-Men? But you think you're bougie."_ _ _ _

____"Just get back to work."_ _ _ _

____"Alright." Roman sighed and went back to work until he saw a boy with purple hair enter the shop. "Virgil!"_ _ _ _

____"Oh, Roman, you still work here."_ _ _ _

____"Virgil, I need to talk to you."_ _ _ _

____"Considering you're actually calling me by my real name, I'll say. What's wrong?" he asked, leaning against the counter._ _ _ _

____"I just found out that your dad and bougie wolverine over there have a date tonight."_ _ _ _

____"Well, yeah, I- wait… bougie _what _?"___ _ _ _

______"I'm talking about Logan."_ _ _ _ _ _

______"Okay then… Anyway, my dad told me to pick these up." Virgil held up a paper bag. When Roman looked inside, he saw that there were flowers inside._ _ _ _ _ _

______"Wow, he's really going all out, huh?"_ _ _ _ _ _

______"I guess." Virgil put the bag down._ _ _ _ _ _

______"I wonder if it's gonna go well."_ _ _ _ _ _

______Virgil looked over at where Logan was happily sitting at the computer. "How about this, you give me your phone number, and I'll text you an update on how it went later."_ _ _ _ _ _

______"You'd do that?"_ _ _ _ _ _

______"Sure," Virgil said before adding, " _If- _"___ _ _ _ _ _

________" _Of course _." Roman muttered to himself, not loud enough for Virgil to hear.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"At school, you pretend that you don't know me. I don't want to be bothered by you. _At all. _"___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Roman sighed and thought about it. "I'll give you two months of Roman-free peace."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Deal."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Roman tore a page off his order notepad and wrote down his phone number on it, before handing it over to Virgil. "Giving my number to a pretty boy, am I dreaming?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"More like delusional."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"It was a joke, Fall Out… Weirdo."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"I've gotta admit, that one was bad."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________~~~_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Roman got home at five and sat down on the couch next to Remus who had been home for half an hour then. Janus Prince came into the room and sat down next to the brothers. "Afternoon, kids. How was work?" he asked._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Remus just shrugged. "Eh, boring."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"It was _tedious _." Roman pretended to faint over the couch. The other two laughed before he added, "Thank God that was the last day."___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________"Last day? Are they closing down?" his dad asked._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________"No, I just quit."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________"You _what _?"___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________"I wouldn't have had time to do my extracurriculars with the job. I even put in a two weeks notice a while back like I was professional or something."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________"You shouldn't just quit your job for your stupid extracurriculars. If Remus had clashing activities, he'd choose his job, wouldn't he?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Roman knew that this wasn't true, but neither of the boys said anything._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________"Just… go set the table. After dinner you can go to bed."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Roman walked past the dining room and went straight up to his room without a second glance. He knew that his dad just didn't want him to end up a worthless bum later, but honestly, Roman thought that he was overreacting just a little. And he was tired of it._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


	5. "I Didn't Know Where Else To Go"

Virgil was sitting in the living room watching a movie when he heard a knock on his door. He ignored it, knowing that if it was Patton coming home from his date, he would just open the door, and that it was most likely the UPS people with a package, and they would just leave whatever they have and Patton could get at after he got home. Then the doorbell rang. Virgil rolled his eyes and walked over to the door, cracked it open a little to avoid any rain dripping into the house. 

"Roman!" he exclaimed when he saw the brunett boy standing on his doorstep, with nothing but his backpack.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know where else to go," he said before starting to cry.

"Roman, I- what happened?"

"I'm so sick of them!"

"Roman, get in the house and tell me what is going on, _now _," Virgil said, raising his voice slightly more than he would normally.__

__Once inside, Roman explained what happened. "Now that I say it, I may have overreacted a little."_ _

__"Yeah, kinda."_ _

__"I just… I kinda don't want to go back there after what happened. I stormed out on them. After I decided to leave, I marched back downstairs and said, 'I'm leaving, so don't expect me to be back anytime soon'. I'll go back after I get a call from my dad or brother telling me to come back."_ _

__Virgil nodded and grabbed a towel out of a cabinet for Roman, seeing that he'd been out in the storm for a while. "I guess you could stay here for at least one day. If my dad's okay with it. We can just say that it's a… sleepover."_ _

__"Really, Virgil?" Roman asked excitedly. "You'd do that for me? I thought you hated me."_ _

__"I do, but you're gonna owe me for this."_ _

__"Fine." Roman wrapped the towel around himself. "So, how's your dad's date going?"_ _

__"He hasn't texted me anything, so I'm just gonna assume that either it's going great, or Logan's killed him." Virgil shrugged. "Either or."_ _

__Roman laughed before saying, "Logan's too smart to kill someone on a date. Then he'd be the main suspect."_ _

__"That sounds so weird coming out of your mouth. You don't seem like the type to talk about murder all casually, you know?"_ _

__"It's most likely rubbed off on me from my brother."_ _

__"Your brother sounds cool," Virgil said, sarcastically._ _

__"Well, you'd both get along. You're both weird."_ _

__"Ouch, that _hurts _, Roman." Virgil rolled his eyes at Roman's insult. "You're losing your creative charm."___ _

____"You think you can do better?"_ _ _ _

____"Better than _that. _"___ _ _ _

______"Oh?"_ _ _ _ _ _

______"I don't have time for this, Ramen."_ _ _ _ _ _

______Roman rolled his eyes. "Roman," he corrected._ _ _ _ _ _

______"What?"_ _ _ _ _ _

______"I'm Roman."_ _ _ _ _ _

______"No, Ramen, you're American."_ _ _ _ _ _

______~~~_ _ _ _ _ _

______Virgil had an old sleeping bag in his closet and put it down next to the bed. He never used it, not since elementary school when he went to his last sleepover. Roman was going to sleep on that, though he was stubborn at first, for it was slightly musty, but Virgil just told him that this was his house, therefore, his rules._ _ _ _ _ _

______Roman was sitting on the floor, on top of the sleeping bag, looking through his _The Prom _playbill that he had in his backpack, while Virgil was sitting at his desk computer, headphones on, typing up something on his Tumblr, when the boys heard the door click open.___ _ _ _ _ _

________"Virgil, I'm back!" they heard. Virgil came out of his room to see Patton wearing a nice suit._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Hey, Dad," Virgil said. "Sorry about the short notice, but I have a friend staying the night, if that's okay."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Oh, of course! Did you two already have dinner?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"No, but it's fine. I can just heat up some-"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"No, Virgil," Patton interrupted, "I'm going to make something for you and your friend. You haven't had someone sleep over since fifth grade."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Fine."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"So, who's your friend?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"It's uh…" Virgil looked over to his room and called out, "Roman, can you get out here!"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Oh, is it Roman Prince?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Yeah, it is."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"I thought you hated him?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Roman emerged from the room and smiled at Patton. "Hi, I haven't seen you since, well, this morning."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Patton laughed. "Well, it's nice to see Virgil hanging out with his friends. Last time you actually had a boy you got along with at school was that boy, Remus, right?" Patton said to Virgil._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Wait… Remus?" Roman asked._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Yes, I know, it is a strange name-" Patton added before being interrupted by Roman._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Remus is my twin brother's name. And I don't know any other Remuses around here."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Holy heck, he does look just like you!" Virgil exclaimed, remembering. "I just didn't notice before because it's been a few years since I've talked to him." He only got an occasional weird text from him. He never remembered Remus mentioning that he had a brother, but apparently he does._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Hey, yeah! I remember him talking about his best friend, Virgil, all the time. I always thought that it was the weirdest name."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"It is a pretty horrible name, though," Virgil added. _'How funny is it _,' he thought, _'that my ex-best friend is the brother of my worst enemy.' _______ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Well, boys, who's hungry?" Patton asked, changing the subject._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Not me, but whatever," Virgil said  
.  
After Patton made two plates of food (he'd already eaten on his date), the boys all sat down at the table._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"So, Patton," Roman said, "I heard from Logan that you two went on a date."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Oh, he told you?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Also, you weren't that subtle," Virgil pointed out. "First you want me to bring flowers to your work, specifically mentioning that I'm not to drop them off at the front desk so Logan wouldn't see, then you come home in a nice suit instead of your usual polo and khakis."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Fine, you're right, this once." Patton gave in._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"So, are you gonna tell us about what happened on the date between you and this dude who just a few days ago, you claimed to have no sort of relationship with?" Virgil asked._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Roman nodded, "I'd actually like to know what all happened, as well, Patton. I overheard when Logan asked you out, so that's the only reason I know about it."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Patton sighed and shook his head before saying, "Fine, if you really want to know…"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Next Chapter: The Date_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


	6. The Date

Patton was late to his date so he could get changed out of his work clothes, and Logan seemed to notice.

It was at a fancy restaurant, and at a table towards the wall sat Logan all alone, looking down at his phone. "Evenin', Logan." Patton smiled, clutching the flowers close to himself subconsciously as he approached him.

"You're late." Just as Patton feared, he would embarrass himself.

"I'm so sorry, Logan. I just wanted to be able to change out of my work clothes and into something nice, and-" Patton trailed off and looked down at his feet. He noticed that Logan's face had turned red, which Patton thought was from anger at him. "I'm sorry," he said, more quietly.

"Patton, it's fine, the waiter hasn't even come to take our drink orders yet," Logan said, much to Patton's relief. "Here, take a seat." He got up and pulled out a chair on the other side of the table for Patton to sit down in. "I've only been here for a few minutes myself."

"I brought you flowers." Patton held the blue roses over the table for Logan to take.

"Thank you, Patton. That was very sweet of you." Logan held the pretty bouquet and looked at their deep blue color for a minute before the waiter came and took their drink orders.

Patton noticed how put together Logan seemed, calmly making conversation. And meanwhile, Patton felt like a mess. He didn't have any time to fix his hair, although the curly blonde mess would most likely not cooperate anyway. Even his suit didn't feel nice enough for a place that fancy.

He looked at the menu then back to Logan. "So, what do you recommend?" he asked.

"I don't know what all tastes good, actually. I've never been able to afford this place. So, I'm simply going to try what sounds good."

"So you usually can't afford this place for yourself, but you can for the both of us?"

"Well, I've been saving up for this."

"Oh, so you've been thinking about taking me out for a while now?" Patton asked, smugly.

Logan just rolled his eyes with a smirk and didn't answer. "I think I'm going to try the steak, how about you?"

"The alfredo looks tasty." 

It wasn't until the two got their food that they really started talking.

"So, Logan, if you could choose anyone in the world to be the best man at your wedding, who would you choose?"

"I'm not planning on ever getting married, Patton."

Patton felt himself go red and he looked away for a second, "I mean, _hypothetically _, if you were to get married, and you could have anyone as your best man, who would it be?"__

__"Well, hypothetically, I'd choose my brother."_ _

__"So you could have anyone in the entire world, and you'd choose your brother? That's sweet!" Patton said, "I didn't know you had a brother, though."_ _

__"Well, isn't that technically the point of dates? To get to know each other better?"_ _

__"That's true. Well, what's his name? Your brother, I mean."_ _

__"Emile. He's a few years older than me, but somehow less mature. He's a thirty-five year old, but has the heart of a five year old. He is actually quite smart, though. He's a therapist."_ _

__"He sounds lovely. Does he have an English accent, too?"_ _

__Logan sighed, "Yes, Patton. Though, I'm not sure what significance that has right now." Patton shrugged before Logan continued. "So, what about you?"_ _

__"What about me?"_ _

__"If you were to hypothetically get married, who would you choose to be your best man?"_ _

__Patton didn't miss a beat before responding, "My son, Virgil. He's so sweet. Kinda strange, though. He dresses like he only shops in those dark goth stores."_ _

__Logan laughed at this. "I have to admit, when I was a teen, I too was-" he paused as if looking for the right word, "- _edgy _."___ _

____"I'd love to see you as a little dark teenager!"_ _ _ _

____"I guess I just enjoyed the alternative subculture. Right before college, though, I dropped my edgy disposition, and opted for a more professional lifestyle."_ _ _ _

____"Was the change really that sudden? Just, from high school to college, you're suddenly a different person?"_ _ _ _

____"Well, I like to believe that the human self is a construct. We can choose who we are in as many ways as we can’t."_ _ _ _

____Patton smiled and touched Logan lightly on the nose. "You're adorable."_ _ _ _

____Logan covered his face with his hands. "Patton, you're infuriating."_ _ _ _

____The two talked for a while longer before they were finished with their food. Afterwards, they stood outside the place, and Patton was about to say goodbye before Logan said, "I know it's late, but there's this park across the street and…" he couldn't seem to get the words out._ _ _ _

____"You wanna take a walk in the park?" When Logan nodded, Patton felt like squealing. "Absolutely! I mean, yes, that'd be cool." Patton took him by the hand and rushed to the crosswalk excitedly, where Logan had to remind him to wait for the traffic to stop._ _ _ _

____"Patton, please calm down. You're going to tire yourself out."_ _ _ _

____"Aww, you're worried about me!"_ _ _ _

____"No, I just-"_ _ _ _

____"Have I mentioned how cute you are when you're flustered?" Before Logan could answer, Patton continued, "Well, you are." Then the signal for them to cross the street turned on and next thing they knew, they were at the park._ _ _ _

____"I used to go here all the time," Logan admitted, before looking down at the concrete, where several footprints were, as if someone had stepped in it back when the cement was still wet._ _ _ _

____Patton approached an old brick wall on the edge of the park covered in worn down graffiti-style vandalism. Some of them had been half scrubbed off. "These look cool," he said, before pointing to a plain black one in the corner and adding, "except for that one. It's not as colorful as the others."_ _ _ _

____Logan just laughed. God, Patton loved his laugh. "I wasn't the most creative person," he said._ _ _ _

____"Wait… you made that one?"_ _ _ _

____"I was rebellious, Patton. I always said that the law couldn't hold me back."_ _ _ _

____"Were you caught?"_ _ _ _

____Logan smirked. "I said rebellious, not stupid. Of course, I wasn't caught. Not even after the fact."_ _ _ _

____"You mean you haven't told anyone about this yet?"_ _ _ _

____"I'm not the most proud of my past."_ _ _ _

____"Oh."_ _ _ _

____Logan looked at the ground. "But I trust you, Patton, to not judge me- or anyone, I mean- for their not so fantastic past."_ _ _ _

____"Well, yeah, people change. Their morals change, usually for the better." Patton gave an empathetic smile. "And besides, it's not like you hurt anyone, right?"_ _ _ _

____Logan hesitated before nodding in agreement. "Right." He looked down at his watch. "Well, let's go back, now. I believe we've done enough for one night."_ _ _ _

____Patton sighed and agreed before they headed back to the restaurant parking lot, where they had left the cars. They said their goodbyes, then went home._ _ _ _

____ _ _

____Next Chapter: Getting Along_ _ _ _


	7. Getting Along (For Once)

Roman sat on the sleeping bag and looked up at the ceiling. He wasn't upset anymore. He was more… stressed. About how he was going to avoid his brother in his improv class. _'I could just skip improv for a few days, _' he thought.__

__Virgil had let him borrow some pajamas, since he hadn't thought to bring any of his own. They were plain black, and definitely not Roman's style, but they were better than nothing._ _

__"Hey, Emo dude?"_ _

__"You're not even trying with these nicknames anymore, are you?" Roman gave him a glare. "What do you need?"_ _

__"I've told you that my brother is in my improv class-"_ _

__"So?"_ _

__"I can't be in the same room as Remus. Not yet."_ _

__Virgil sighed, "Well, what do you want me to do about it?"_ _

__"You have first lunch, right?"_ _

__"Yes."_ _

__"That's when my improv class is," he said. "I thought maybe I could hang out with you at lunch, so I don't have to-"_ _

__Virgil interrupted him before he could finish. Gosh, he was so rude, sometimes. And unsympathetic. "No, Roman. Don't you remember our deal? For two months, at school we don't know each other."_ _

__"Yes, but that was before-"_ _

__"No, Roman. You can hang out with someone else. I'm sure you've got tons of people who would kill to sit with you at lunch. You're like Regina George from Mean Girls."_ _

__"You've actually seen Mean Girls?"_ _

__"I mean, I'm a theatre kid, yeah? I've listened to the musical."_ _

__"You said you only took that class for the credits!"_ _

__"And you believed me?"_ _

__Roman smirked. "Oh my God, Virgil Blue, you are a theatre nerd! I'm gonna use this against you."_ _

__"Knock yourself out."_ _

__"Very well J.Delightful. You know, J.D? From Heathers."_ _

__"I know who J.D. is Roman. You, on the other hand, are very Heather Chandler. Because you're self absorbed and I wish you were dead."_ _

__"Touché."_ _

__That night, Roman couldn't sleep. Maybe it was because of what was happening, maybe it was the fact that it was pouring outside. He sat on top of the sleeping bag and held the pillow on his lap, tightly. He looked up at the bed, where Virgil's unreadable face was illuminated by his phone._ _

__"You're not asleep, yet?"_ _

__Virgil looked up from what he was doing and turned on the reading lamp next to him. "No. I… I'm tired, but my mind won't stop… thinking." Thunder crackled in the distance, raindrops plopping down on the roof. He pulled his knees to his chest. "You can't sleep either?" he asked._ _

__"No. I… I just... I'm worried. I want to go back to my dad, but it would be too stressful, I guess. And what am I gonna do in the meantime? I don't have many friends that I can just show up to their house and expect them to let me stay there on such short notice and-" he stopped and jumped when he heard more thunder. "I just don't know what I'm going to do."_ _

__"I suppose…"_ _

__"What?"_ _

__"I mean, we _could_ explain the situation to my dad, and _maybe_ you could stay here for a few more days."__

______"Really, Virgil? You'd do that for me?" Roman was genuinely happy. He mentally took back that comment he made inside his head about Virgil being unsympathetic._ _ _ _ _ _

______"I-" Virgil stopped before he finished his sentence, and turned the lamp off. "Get some sleep, and we'll talk about this more tomorrow."_ _ _ _ _ _

______"Virgil-"_ _ _ _ _ _

______He looked back at Roman for a second, "Hmm?"_ _ _ _ _ _

______"Thank you. Actually." Roman smiled and layed back down._ _ _ _ _ _

______"Roman, if you, uh, want to sleep in the bed, I can take the sleeping bag. I mean, I wasn't planning on sleeping anyway."_ _ _ _ _ _

______Before Roman could say anything cheesy, he just covered up his graciousness with a laugh. "Finally, the luxury gets luxury."_ _ _ _ _ _

______"Are you… are you saying that _you're _a luxury?"___ _ _ _ _ _

________"Well, yes, I'm a luxury very few can afford!"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Virgil scoffed. "Yet my broke ass is stuck with you."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Hmph!" Roman lied there, about to go to sleep, glad that he had someone like Virgil in his life. Someone nice and considerate and amazing looking and- _'Wait, no, stop with this, Roman,' _he said to himself. _'I hate Virgil. He's too angsty and broody and annoying. He's just being nice for once, that's all.' _______ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________~~~_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Roman woke up the next day, and momentarily forgot what happened the night before, until he noticed Virgil sitting at his desk, doing something on his computer._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"You're up, early," he said, after checking the time on the wall clock. It was 4:56._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Virgil just shrugged. "It's not getting up early if I don't go to bed at all."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"That's not necessarily healthy."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"That's not necessarily your business." Virgil took a sip of the coffee next to the computer and turned around to face Roman. "What the heck?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"What?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Your hair is, like, the same as when you went to bed. There's not a piece out of place, how?" He reached over and touched Roman's dark brown hair, and Roman swatted his hand away._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Now I'd like to see how bad that already horrible purple mess looks in the morning."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Don't have bed-head if I don't go to bed."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Roman stood up and took out a shirt that he had in his backpack. "Again, not necessarily healthy." He took the black pajama shirt off and put on a gold tee and an old varsity jacket. He reached over and ruffled Virgil's hair in retaliation to him touching his, and Virgil hissed in response to that. It was way softer than it looked. ' _Why is his hair so soft? It's like he uses magic conditioner or some shit.'_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _____

_____________"Back off, Princey. We're not on hair touching bases, yet." Virgil turned back to his computer and started typing away, the clicking of the keys barely audible over Roman's thoughts._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_______________'Why is he like this? It's like he wants me to find him unbearable, with that soft purple hair and those shiny chestnut colored eyes and- wait, no, I'm getting off track!' _Roman rubbed his eyes and tried to clear his head._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ____

________________"You okay, Drama Prince?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________"Yeah, I'm just tired," he lied. "Tired of you, I mean."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Virgil rolled his eyes. "Sure. Make sure you remember our deal when you go and skip improv. You cannot talk to me when I'm at lunch with my friends."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________"You have friends?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________"Yes, actually, I do."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Roman just sighed, "It was a joke, Emo."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Next Chapter: Avoiding Roman_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a few parts in this chapter that are supposed to be in italics but for some reason ao3 won't make it italics. I'll try to fix it later.


	8. Avoiding Roman

Virgil hadn't seen Roman all day, and was honestly relieved. But, while he was at lunch with his two best friends, he noticed Roman walk by. 

And would you guess what he did? He walked over to them!

"Hey, ladies!" He said to Virgil's friends, Valerie and Talyn. 

"Roman, I'm non-binary."

"Apologies, Talyn, if I had known,"

"It's fine, don't worry," they responded. 

"And I don't believe I've been acquainted with this young man." Roman said, looking at Virgil like the oblivious moron he was.

"Roman, Virgil. Virgil, Roman." Valerie tried introducing the boys and Virgil glared at him. 

"Pleased to meet you," Virgil said sarcastically, before putting the hood of his jacket up and looking down at his phone.

"Shy guy, huh?" Roman asked, jokingly, before sitting down at their table. "I hope you don't mind if I sit with you three today. I'm going to be in this lunch for a couple of days."

Virgil was sick of him. _'Why can't he just sit anywhere else. I can't stand that guy. He's like an actual annoying fairytale character,' _he thought. "I need to get some water. I'll be back," he said, not looking at Roman.__

__"I need to refill my water bottle, I'll go with you."_ _

__Virgil felt like he was literally going to blow up. But he kept his cool on the outside. "Alright, come on," he grumbled. As they started to walk away from the table, Virgil whisper-yelled at Roman, "What is your problem?!"_ _

__"What problem? I acted like I didn't know you, just like you asked me to."_ _

__"It's not like I was embarrassed about knowing you. It's that I don't like to be around you. You're too dramatic, too chivalrous, too… too… it's like you try too hard to be perfect!"_ _

__"But I am perfect."_ _

__"You're not, Roman! You're… you're… useless!"_ _

__Roman didn't try to argue back. He just looked away. "If you don't want me around, I'll just go hang out in the library or something." Before Virgil could respond, he ran away._ _

__Virgil walked back to the table where his friends had been watching from afar. "What was that about?" Talyn asked._ _

__"It was nothing. He just realized that he had somewhere he needed to go."_ _

__"That's not what it looked like."_ _

__Virgil looked at them and sighed. "Roman and I have… met before. I don't like him though. He's too annoying, and I made a deal with him, saying I'd do something for him, if he pretended that he didn't know me at school, so I wouldn't have to talk to him, and apparently, he misunderstood, and I got mad at him when it wasn't really his fault, and I called him useless and apparently that really hurt-"_ _

__"Then apologize." Virgil looked over at Valerie._ _

__"Valerie, I can't just-"_ _

__"What, give him the satisfaction? Just go apologise, and I'm sure he'll forgive you."_ _

__"Right now?"_ _

__"No, Virgil, next year," Talyn added._ _

__"You know what, I've had it with your sarcasm, vetal miking."_ _

__"It was one time!"_ _

__"More like five times in one minute." Virgil stood up. "Fine, I'll go apologise to him. Happy?" He walked out of the cafeteria and to the library, past all the classrooms that were still having their class. Opening the library door, Virgil saw the brunet boy sitting on the ground, back against the bookcase, looking genuinely miserable._ _

__Amongst seeing Virgil approach, Roman stood up and dusted himself off, putting on a smile that he assumed was a facade. "Hey, Virgil. I see you're back to beg for forgiveness."_ _

__"Roman, I- I can tell that you're faking."_ _

__"Faking what?"_ _

__"You acting like a total self absorbed jerk, it's an act. I can now see that you actually do care what other people think of you, and if I had realized that, I wouldn't have called you useless." Virgil sighed and looked away._ _

__"I'm sorry, too. We made a deal, I should've followed it through and left you alone."_ _

__"It's whatever. We can just continue on with our lives, and put this thing behind us."_ _

__"You sound all mature and stuff."_ _

__"Listen, I'm trying my best not to sound like a sarcastic piece of shit for once, so if you could stop judging me for two seconds, that would be ideal."_ _

__"Fine."_ _

__After school, Roman rode the bus like usual, but this time, he got off at Virgil's stop. Patton was home early, because the middle school had an early release day._ _

__"Hey, Virgil, and Roman, you're here again. Did you forget something yesterday?"_ _

__Virgil looked over at Roman, who was staring at his feet. He actually felt sorry for him. "Mr. Blue, I-"_ _

__"Roman, you call me Patton literally every single day, what's with this sudden formality? Did someone die?" He asked that last part with a little more concern._ _

__"No, I promise, I just… Can I have a favor?"_ _

__The two boys explained the whole situation, and Patton simply nodded. "I see. Well, I don't like to get in between family, but if you feel that this is the best option-"_ _

__"Only for a few days, I promise. If my dad doesn't demand I come home by the end of the week, I'll go home myself."_ _

__Patton nodded and shrugged. "Very well."_ _

__Roman looked like he was going to explode from excitement. "Thank you so much, sir! I mean, Patton, if that's what you prefer."_ _

__"Patton is fine."_ _

__The boys went down the hall to Virgil's room, and sat down on the bed. Roman started laughing. "Oh, this is great! I can't begin to thank you, Virgil!" He seemed so ecstatic that he could continue on with his teenage rebellion._ _

__"Calm down, Roman, it's just for the week. Besides, my dad had the final decision."_ _

__"Yeah, but you're the one that's gonna have to tolerate me and my BS."_ _

__"Yeah, so I'm gonna ignore you and your BS."_ _

__"Fair plan."_ _

__Just then, a ringing came from one of their phones. It was Roman's. He looked at the caller ID screen and-_ _

__"It's my dad."_ _

__

__Next Chapter: Uh-Oh_ _


	9. Uh-Oh

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was sitting in my room, just chilling, when I remembered that I hadn't uploaded the new chapter yet I'm so sorry it took so long! But here it is, I hope you enjoy! ~Aberdeen

Roman looked down at his phone in horror and disbelief.

"Roman, are you gonna answer it?" Virgil asked.

Roman just nodded, and swallowed, ready for the worst yelling he'd most likely hear in a while, but when he put the phone to his ear, he didn't hear his dad being angry. Oh, no, it was the opposite.

"Hey, I'm at the store, can you check the cupboard to see how much spaghetti we have?"

"Uh, dad? I'm not at home."

"Oh, sorry, I thought you were Remus. Well, go back to whatever you were doing." Then the other side of the phone hung up.

His dad didn't even seem to want him back. All he was worrying about was what to have for dinner! He put his phone in his pocket and gave a shaky sigh, trying his best not to completely break down.

Virgil looked genuinely concerned. He put an arm around Roman. "Roman are you- what was that about?"

"It was nothing, he just dialed the wrong number," he said, trying to be as vague as possible. It felt nice that someone cared, though. ' _I guess he's sweet, sometimes, when he's not being inconsiderate, of course.' ___

__"They're gonna want you back, Roman, if that's what you're worried about," Virgil said, in a softer tone than normal. "I have a feeling."_ _

__"It is what I'm worried about, actually." He really felt like he was going to burst into tears any second. And he did. Virgil awkwardly gave him a hug, and Roman sobbed into his light grey hoodie. "I'm sorry, I got your jacket wet."_ _

__"Not the worst thing that this thing has been through," he pointed out. "It used to be jet black."_ _

__Roman gave a short laugh through his tears. "Thanks, Virgil. I know you hate me, but at least you'll tolerate me when I'm dealing with this stupid family stuff."_ _

__Virgil just nodded. "Yeah, no problem." Then he smiled.  
Holy fuck, he smiled! That bastard! _'He has no right to have a smile that freaking adorable,' _Roman thought. He wiped the rest of his tears away on his old varsity jacket and took a few deep breaths. "Okay, I think I'm good for now."___ _

____"Are you sure?" This time, Virgil sounded more sarcastic than sweet, like his kindness had run out for the day, and Roman was caught off guard._ _ _ _

____"I- yes?"_ _ _ _

____"Good. Now, I was planning on taking the bed tonight and actually sleeping, so if you don't mind-"_ _ _ _

____"Oh," Roman said shortly, before standing up and gestured to the bed with a dramatic flourish. "It's all yours, Emo… Megara. Sorry, that one was bad..."_ _ _ _

____"Bold of you to assume that Megara wasn't emo."_ _ _ _

____~~~_ _ _ _

____That night, Roman had a difficult time sleeping on the hard floor. When he looked up in the bed, Virgil had his eyes closed._ _ _ _

____"Virgil… Virgil, are you asleep yet?"_ _ _ _

____"Nope, just experiencing death."_ _ _ _

____Roman ignored the sarcastic comment. "This floor is awfully uncomfortable," he pointed out._ _ _ _

____"Yeah, that's why I'm sleeping on the bed."_ _ _ _

____"I totally get that, and that's why I want to sleep on the bed."_ _ _ _

____"You can sleep in the bed tomorrow, Princey, just go to sleep."_ _ _ _

____"But I can't! The ground hates me!"_ _ _ _

____"The ground can't hate you, Roman."_ _ _ _

____"But it does!" Roman stood up before dramatically and deliberately falling back down._ _ _ _

____"Roman, if you don't shut the fuck up-"_ _ _ _

____"Oh, what are you gonna do, Hot Topic? Are you gonna murder me?"_ _ _ _

____Virgil let out a short sigh. "No, but I'm not saying that the thought hasn't crossed my mind."_ _ _ _

____Roman huffed and sat cross-legged on the floor with his arms folded across his chest. "There's plenty of room for both of us. I can sleep on one end, and you can sleep on the other and-"_ _ _ _

____"Fine, but only because you're so fucking annoying, and I need you to stop talking."_ _ _ _

____Roman immediately jumped up onto the bed, sitting down near the footboard. "Thanks," he said, lying down._ _ _ _

____"Now if I hear another word out of you, I am going to kill you."_ _ _ _

____"Fair."_ _ _ _

____"Alright, Double bubble disco queen, you ready to head to the guillotine?" Virgil asked, only sounding vaguely threatening because he was trying too hard to stifle his laughter._ _ _ _

____"I'm sorry, but that shouldn't count!" Roman said before he started to laugh as well._ _ _ _

____ _ _

____Next Chapter: Bonding_ _ _ _


	10. Bonding

Virgil was sitting at his desk on a rainy day, the storm so rough, they had to cancel school. Roman was on the bed, looking at some paper full of scribbles and words that didn't seem to connect at all. "Brain dumping," he called it when Virgil asked what happened to his paper.

"What rhymes with purple?" Roman asked, before Patton walked into the room.

"No it doesn't," he said, before laughing. The other two did not laugh. "Anyways, I have some errands I need to run, so I'll be back in an hour or so."

"In this storm?" Virgil asked with a hint of disbelief in his voice. "At least the stores won't be too crowded."

"Exactly," Patton said, "So, I best be off!" Then he left. 

"Anyway," Virgil said, turning his attention back to Roman, "I don't think there's actually anything that rhymes with purple. You could replace the word with violet or lavender if that'll help."

"Yeah, like lavender or violet would be any better."

Virgil shrugged and looked away, chewing on his nails.

"You really ought to stop that."

Virgil knew exactly what he was talking about. "Sorry, I've been doing it for so long, it's a habit."

Roman looked lost in thought before perking up, "Do you have any nail polish."

"Yeah, I've got some black stuff. I've never actually used it, though."

"Why?"

Virgil just shrugged. "Never got around to painting them. Why do you ask? You wanna do make-overs and talk about our crushes?" 

Virgil wasn't sure why, but Roman blushed and looked away when he said that last part. "No, I just think it'd be a good way to break your bad habit."

"Biting my nails helps my anxiety. Because of that, I don't have any intention of stopping."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Roman went back to writing on his paper.

Virgil sighed. "You know what, go ahead. But I'm not guaranteeing that I won't just peel it off right away and start biting my nails again. I'll get the nail polish, you can do mine, and I'll do yours."

"No way, Panic! At the Drama Club, I will not wear black nail polish."

"Fine, be that way." Virgil leaned over, opened the drawer of his desk, and dug in it for a few seconds before taking out a small, unopened bottle of nail polish, and setting it on the desk.

"Jeez, you really haven't used this before," Roman said, tearing the plastic wrapping off the top. "Now if you don't hold your hand still, I will purposely get this all over your hand."

"Gosh, fine." Virgil held his left hand out first. "Make it quick, if you must."

"Your nails are surprisingly smooth-edged for someone who bites them all the time."

"Apologies."

"No, I meant that as a good thing."

Virgil shrugged, "I never can tell with you."

"You could tell, you're just being sarcastic."

"Me? Sarcastic? How dare you even consider it?" Virgil said, over exaggerating the sarcasm.

"Stop moving!"

"Sorry."

After a little bit of bickering, all of Virgil's nails were painted black. 

"Edgy, I like it."

"Too edgy. It needs glitter or something."

"Roman, it's perfect as it is."

Roman's face lit up after Virgil said this. "Really?" Gosh, he was adorable, sometimes.

"Uh-huh. Thanks, I guess."

"You're welcome!"

Virgil was planning on scrubbing the polish off his fingers before going to bed, but instead, he left it. ' _Roman really isn't that bad, _' he thought, ' _He's pretty sweet most of the time. Like he's trying not to be a clueless moron, for once. _'____

____ _ _

____Next Chapter: Facing Fear_ _ _ _


	11. Facing Fear

It had been two days since Roman had gotten a phone call from his dad. While he didn't feel like he should go home yet, he thought that maybe he could face improv class with his brother.

In fifth period, Roman walked past the courtyard, where he and Virgil had lunch the other day, and went towards the theatre classroom. Virgil stood up from where he was sitting and ran after him, "Roman, we're still sitting over here."

"I'm going to class."

"Roman, you don't have to. Remember, I said you could still sit with me and my friends-"

"I'm going to face Remus. Hope he doesn't get mad at me for having left him."

"Oh," Virgil said, looking down, "good luck."

"Thanks, but I'll be fine."

Roman knocked on the always locked theatre room door, and one of his classmates opened it, a surprised look on their face. "Roman, where have you-"

"It doesn't matter. I'm here now, aren't I?" Roman slipped through the door and took a seat in the back. Remus wasn't there yet, but he would be. Remus never missed a day of school. One of the reasons he was the favorite twin to his dad.

It was two minutes 'til class when Remus finally arrived. As soon as he noticed Roman sitting in the room, his eyes widened. "Roman!"

Roman looked up to see his twin storming over. "Hey, Remus," he said quietly.

"How could you? You left us! Dad's been worried for days! I've been worried! Dad realized that he was wrong for being mad at you. He thought that we could just give you space for a day and you'd be back, but you weren't!" Roman could see some tears forming in Remus' eyes, but he just blinked them back. "Why didn't you come back?"

"I didn't think you wanted me back. None of you said anything about wanting me to not leave, so why would you want me to come back?"

"Because I didn't want you to go. I was just too afraid to say anything!"

"I'm not going back yet."

"Why not?"

"Because I want to know for sure that you'll both accept me back."

"But I already said that Dad does want-"

"Then I should hear it from him."

The rest of the day was fine. Roman saw Remus in the hallway once, but they both ignored each other. In seventh period, Roman walked into the classroom and sat next to Virgil.

"So, how'd seeing your brother go?" Virgil asked as Roman took a seat.

"Oh, he hates me right now. Apparently he and dad are devastated that I left, but for some reason they didn't think to tell me." Roman scoffed. "I honestly can’t believe them sometimes."

"So, are you going back home today?"

"I don’t think so."  
Virgil sighed and pulled out his phone, turning it so Roman wasn’t able to see what he was doing. "Well, you’re going to have to go back eventually."

"I know that, but I can wait a little longer, can’t I?"

"Roman, you know you can’t."

And he did. He didn’t want to, but he really did have to. "Virgil, please, just give me one more day."

Virgil looked away. "Sure thing, Ramen," he said when he looked back up.

"You really need to stop reusing your nicknames. Be original, Virge."

Roman was lying on the floor that afternoon, when the doorbell rang. Patton wasn't at home, so at first the boys ignored it. Then it rang again.

"I'll get it." Roman sighed. He opened the door and came face to face with-

"Dad?"

Janus stood there, honestly looking sleep deprived and slightly distressed. "Roman, why haven't you come home?"

"Dad, I- how did you find where I was?"

"Roman, I'm sorry."

"Save the sappy stuff. Just yell at me now. I know that's what you're gonna do as soon as we get in the car and go home. Might as well get it over with."

Janus took a step towards him, and Roman flinched, not expecting what happened. He hugged him. Roman pulled away and sighed. 

"I'm sorry, dad," he said, tears starting to form. "I was over dramatic. I should've just stayed, things would've cooled down, I know it! I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, Roman. Go get your things, we're going home."

Roman nodded and headed back inside for a moment. Virgil was sitting up on the bed. "So, you're going home?"

"Yeah. I'm just not sure how they figured out where I was." He looked over at Virgil, who was avoiding eye contact.

"Yeah, odd."

"It was you, wasn't it?"

"I- what? No! Of course not!" Virgil said, panic on his face and in his voice.

"Who else would it have been?"

"But, aren't you happy that you can go back and everything's going to be fine? Isn't that what you wanted?"

"I wanted them to accept me back on their own. I didn't need your help!"

"I just want you to not be in my hair for once! You've been living in my house for the past week, not having any plans of actually leaving." Virgil stood up and got right in Roman's face. "I'm sick of you interfering with my life! Everywhere I go, there you are. And then you show up at my house one day and expect me to be fine with this!"

"But you were!"

"Yes, I was, then you just seemed so adamant that you were going to stay until your dad actually said word for word that he wants you to come home. I want you to go home. I want you to be with your family. Roman, they clearly care about you."

Roman stood there in silence. Virgil was actually acting like he cared about him. 'Does _he care about me? Does he not hate me? _' he thought. Then he shook off the thought. _'No, he clearly just wants me gone.' _____

____"Listen, your dad's out waiting for you, so if you would, please get out of my house."_ _ _ _

____"Virgil, I-"_ _ _ _

____"Roman, listen to me. I care about you. You're one of my best friends. But I'm going to need you to be back with your dad and brother. They want you back, clearly. So, please just-"_ _ _ _

____"What was that first part?"_ _ _ _

____"Roman, listen to me?"_ _ _ _

____"No, after that."_ _ _ _

____"I care about you. And you're one of my best friends."_ _ _ _

_____'Wow, he isn't an insufferable jerk. And I'm one of his best friends? I mean, that's not really saying much for someone who doesn't have many friends, but still.' _Roman took a deep breath and grabbed his backpack off the floor. He hugged Virgil and felt warm inside when he hugged him back. He smiled before saying, "I'm sorry I got mad at you for calling my family. Jeez, the about of times I've had to say sorry today-"__ _ _ _ _

______Virgil smirked and rolled his eyes. "Bye, Roman."_ _ _ _ _ _

______"Bye, Virgil." And then he left._ _ _ _ _ _

______ _ _ _ _

______Next Chapter: Idk, I don't have a name for it yet, sorry._ _ _ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This site is still not registering when I put the italics on there most of the time, so, again, apologies for that. As soon as I can figure out what's going on, I'll fix it. ~Aberdeen


	12. The Date (again)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is literally such an unnecessary chapter other than, like, the very end, but I really wanted to show Patton's and Logan's date from Logan's pov, so... ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

Logan had another date with Patton. He was definitely nervous, considering how much of a fool he made of himself during their last few dates. He remembered the first one so vividly.

~~~

It was at a fancy restaurant that Logan had wanted to try forever, but didn't want to spend all that money just to go alone. He had gotten there first and was sitting down on his phone while he waited for Patton to arrive.

"Evenin', Logan." Patton smiled as he approached.

"You're late," Logan said before instantly regretting it.

"I'm so sorry, Logan," Patton started explaining himself, "I just wanted to be able to change out of my work clothes and into something nice, and-" Patton trailed off and looked down at his feet. Logan could feel his face flushing red with embarrassment. He had made Patton upset. Not the best first date tactics. "I'm sorry," Patton said, more quietly.

"Patton, it's fine, the waiter hasn't even come to take our drink orders yet," Logan said, hoping to make things a little better. "Here, take a seat." He got up and pulled out a chair on the other side of the table for Patton to sit down in. "I've only been here for a few minutes myself."

"I brought you flowers." Patton held a bouquet of blue roses over the table for Logan to take.

"Thank you, Patton. That was very sweet of you." Logan held the pretty bouquet and looked at the flowers for a moment before back at Patton.

Logan noticed how excited Patton seemed to be. He hoped that he wasn't making Patton think that he wasn't having a good time, just because of his calm demeanor. He also felt… over-dressed. Like he shouldn't have worn a suit as fancy as the one he was wearing, even to a restaurant like the one they were at.

Patton looked down at the menu then smiled at Logan. "So, what do you recommend?"

"I don't know what all tastes good, actually. I've never been able to afford this place. So, I'm simply going to try what sounds good."

"So you usually can't afford this place for yourself, but you can for the both of us?"

Logan stumbled over his words and hoped that Patton didn't notice. "Well, I've been saving up for this."

"Oh, so you've been thinking about taking me out for a while now?" Patton asked, with a smug grin.

Logan just rolled his eyes with a smirk and didn't answer. _'Why is he so adorable?' _"I think I'm going to try the steak, how about you?"__

__"The alfredo looks tasty."_ _

__It wasn't until the two got their food that they really started talking._ _

__"So, Logan, if you could choose anyone in the world to be the best man at your wedding, who would you choose?" Patton said, trying to start up a conversation._ _

__"I'm not planning on ever getting married, Patton."_ _

__Patton looked away for a second, then Logan immediately wished he could take his words back. "I mean, hypothetically, if you were to get married, and you could have anyone as your best man, who would it be?"_ _

__"Well, hypothetically, I'd most likely choose my brother."_ _

__"So you could have anyone in the entire world, and you'd choose your brother? That's sweet!" Patton said, "I didn't know you had a brother, though."_ _

__"Well, isn't that technically the point of dates? To get to know each other better?"_ _

__"That's true. Well, what's his name? Your brother, I mean."_ _

__"Emile. He's a few years older than me, but somehow less mature. He's a thirty-five year old, but has the heart of a five year old. He is actually quite smart, though. He's a therapist."_ _

__"He sounds lovely. Does he have an English accent, too?"_ _

__Logan sighed, "Yes, Patton. Though, I'm not sure what significance that has right now." Patton shrugged before Logan continued. "So, what about you?"_ _

__"What about me?"_ _

__"If you were to hypothetically get married, who would you choose to be your best man?"_ _

__Patton didn't miss a beat before responding, "My son, Virgil. He's so sweet. Kinda strange, though. He dresses like he only shops in those dark goth stores."_ _

__Logan laughed at this. "I have to admit, when I was a teen, I too was … edgy."_ _

__"I'd love to see you as a little dark teenager!"_ _

__"I guess I just enjoyed the alternative subculture. Right before college, though, I dropped my edgy disposition, and opted for a more professional lifestyle," he said, leaving the part out about why he stopped being like he used to be._ _

__"Was the change really that sudden? Just, from high school to college, you're suddenly a different person?"_ _

__Logan hesitated before making something up right on the spot. Again, he wasn't going to mention the real reason for leaving the old him behind. "Well, I like to believe that the human self is a construct. We can choose who we are in as many ways as we can't."_ _

__Patton smiled and touched Logan lightly on the nose. "You're adorable."_ _

__Logan felt his face go red, and covered his face with his hands. "Patton, you're infuriating." Though, what he meant was more along the lines of, 'You're too adorable for me to handle, and I don't deserve you.'_ _

__The two talked for a while longer before they were finished with their food. Afterwards, they stood outside the place, and Patton was about to leave before Logan said, "I know it's late, but there's this park across the street and…" he couldn't seem to get the words out._ _

__"You wanna take a walk in the park?" Logan nodded. Why couldn't he just learn to keep cool around Patton? "Absolutely! I mean, yes, that'd be cool." Patton took him by the hand and rushed to the crosswalk, where Logan had to remind him to wait for the traffic to stop._ _

__"Patton, please calm down. You're going to tire yourself out."_ _

__"Aww, you're worried about me!"_ _

__Logan shook his head. "No, I just-"_ _

__"Have I mentioned how cute you are when you're flustered?" Before Logan could answer, Patton continued, "Well, you are." Then the signal for them to cross the street turned on and next thing they knew, they were at the park._ _

__"I used to go here all the time," Logan admitted, before looking down at the concrete, where several footprints were, as if someone had stepped in it back when the cement was still wet._ _

__Patton approached an old brick wall on the edge of the park covered in worn down graffiti-style vandalism. "These look cool," he said, before pointing to a plain black one in the corner and adding, "except for that one. It's not as colorful as the others." It was one Logan had done a while back. It said, "The world is dark, and that's okay."_ _

__Logan just laughed. "I wasn't the most creative person," he said._ _

__"Wait… you made that one?"_ _

__"I was rebellious, Patton. I always said that the law couldn't hold me back."_ _

__"Were you caught?"_ _

__"I said rebellious, not stupid. Of course, I wasn't caught. Not even after the fact."_ _

__"You mean you haven't told anyone about this yet?"_ _

__"I'm not the most proud of my past," Logan mumbled, remembering back to when he'd walk around with spray paint and torn up detention slips in his bag._ _

__"Oh."_ _

__Logan looked at the ground. "But I trust you, Patton, to not judge me- or anyone, I mean- for their not so fantastic past."_ _

__"Well, yeah, people change. Their morals change, usually for the better." Patton gave an empathetic smile. "And besides, it's not like you hurt anyone, right?"_ _

__Logan hesitated before nodding in agreement. He trusted Patton, sure, but he didn't trust anyone enough to tell them about what had happened to make him wish that the old Logan never existed. "Right," he lied. He looked down at his watch. "Well, let's go back, now. I believe we've done enough for one night."_ _

__Patton agreed before they headed back to the restaurant parking lot, where they had left the cars. They said their goodbyes, then went home._ _


	13. Hanging Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been doing a bad job of updating every day, haven't it? Sorry about that. Hopefully this chapter makes up for that. ~Aberdeen

Virgil was sitting on his bed doing homework on a Saturday afternoon. His dad was off on a date with Logan (they had had four so far) so he was home alone. His headphones were plugged into his phone and he was listening to My Chemical Romance. Then, suddenly the music stopped, and his phone started vibrating. He picked up the phone and looked at the caller ID screen, which had a blank contacts photo and the name said, "Roman." 

Virgil sighed and unplugged his headphones, answered and put the phone up to his ear. "What do you want from me, Roman?"

"I'm bored," Roman said, dramatically.

"And what do you want me to do about it?"

"We should hang out!"

"Roman, I'm kinda busy."

"Oh? With what?"

"Homework."

"You can do it tomorrow."

"Don't you have other friends you can bother?"

Then Roman mumbled something that Virgil couldn't understand.

"What?"

"I said that I would rather hang out with you. All my other friends are..."

"Busy?"

"Bad friends."

Virgil sighed and gave in. "Fine. I've got a movie we could watch."

"Thank you! I'll be there in five." Then he hung up. Virgil had to admit, while Roman was annoying, he wasn't the worst to hang out with.

As promised, around five minutes later, the doorbell rang, and Virgil opened up the door. "Welcome back, Hercules. Long time no see."

"You just saw me in school yesterday."

"So, how's life at home? It's been, what, a week since you went back there?"

"Well, it's been calmer. Like my dad's been trying to not lose his marbles."

"I guess that's good."

"Yeah." 

After a small silence, Virgil gestured to his room. "Well, I've got the movie in my DVD player, if you wanna come watch it."

"Yeah, good plan."

The boys both sat on Virgil's bed, and Virgil hit play on the remote. He chose one of his favorites, Nightmare Before Christmas.

"Hey, Emo Nightmare, it's nowhere close to Halloween or Christmas."

"Oh, shut up. At least I put on something I thought we would both like."

"Touché," Roman said. 

They were only a little bit into the movie before Roman spoke up again. "Hey, Virge?"

"I told you not to call me that, but what do you need?"

"Remember the other day, when you said that I was one of your best friends?"

"Yeah, what about it?" Virgil asked.

"I just thought I'd let you know that you're one of my best friends, too."

Virgil was actually kind of surprised, in all honesty. _Huh, someone with as many friends as he has, bad or not, and he says that I'm one of his best friends?' _He actually felt pretty glad about the fact. "Oh, how so?"__

__"What?"_ _

__"I mean, out of all the people you could choose to be your best friend, and you choose the weird edgy emo kid?"_ _

__"Of course! I feel like you understand me," he said, before adding quietly, and Virgil barely heard it, but he heard it nonetheless, "plus you're kinda cute."_ _

__"What was that last part?"_ _

__"I just said that you understand me."_ _

__"Uh-huh."_ _

__"Like, when I'm feeling sad, you don't just say, 'no, don't be sad,' you actually try and help me to not be sad."_ _

__"Oh, uh, that's… good." Virgil didn't really know what to say. "I mean… thanks?"_ _

__Roman just laughed. Virgil could tell that it was a genuine laugh._ _

__A little longer into the movie, and Sally's Song came on. Roman perked up. "Oh, this is one of my favorite songs in this movie," he said._ _

__"Oh? I'm partial to This is Halloween, mysel-"_ _

__"I've always thought that this would be the perfect song to slow-dance to."_ _

__"Uh-huh."_ _

__"Maybe we could test my theory..?" Roman asked, sounding a little unsure of himself._ _

__This guy was the opposite of subtle. Virgil could clearly tell that he liked him. Why? Virgil didn't know, he thought he was the least likable person Roman knew._ _

__In response to Roman's comment, Virgil rolled his eyes. "No way, Roman, I don't dance. I mean, I do dance, sometimes, but I am not going to slow dance. I don't know how."_ _

__"I can show you."_ _

__"Roman, I said that I don't-" Virgil started. He looked at Roman who had already gotten off the bed and held his hand out to Virgil. "Fine." Virgil took his hand and stood up. "How does this work?"_ _

__"Okay," Roman took one of Virgil's hands and put it on his shoulder, and put his hand on Virgil's waist, before intertwining their other hands. "There. Now, the rest is simple. I'll lead, so you don't, like, step on my foot on accident."_ _

__"I'm not guaranteeing that I won't do it on purpose."_ _

__Roman led Virgil through the dancing, swaying to the music. Virgil actually liked it. Alot. Being in Roman's arms, hearing the comforting music of his favorite movie. At first, he hoped he wasn't blushing, though after a while, he didn't care._ _

__At the last notes of the song, Roman said, "I'm gonna spin you now."_ _

__"What?" Virgil wasn't prepared when Roman attempted to spin him around, causing him to fall over._ _

__"Oh no, I'm so sorry!" Roman kneeled down to help him up, but Virgil just swatted his hand away._ _

__"I'm fine, double bubble drama queen." Virgil stood up and dusted off his clothes. "That was… okay, I guess." No, he felt like it was more than okay. He felt like it was… magical. Like he'd do it again in a heartbeat._ _

__"Just okay? I mean, I haven't danced like that in a while, but I still think I did pretty-"_ _

__"No, you were great," he reassured him, "it's just… it felt kind of weird. Me dancing with another guy-"_ _

__"Too gay for you?"_ _

__"No, Roman, I am gay-"_ _

__"Oh, cool."_ _

__"Let me finish, please! Anyway, dancing with another guy just feels… awkward. Like… gosh, I don't know!"_ _

__"Like you're in love?"_ _

__"What? No! Heck no! I just… I just…" Virgil didn't know what to say. He couldn't just admit that Roman was right. Virgil didn't even know if Roman was right._ _

__"There's nothing wrong with liking someone, Virgil."_ _

__"Roman, I can't talk to you about this!"_ _

__"Virgil! You're panicking."_ _

__Virgil closed his eyes and took a deep breath to try and calm himself down, but he didn't expect what would happen after._ _

__He felt a hand on his cheek, then when he opened his eyes, he saw Roman looking him in the eyes. They were so close to each other. Then Roman leaned closer. Virgil practically froze, his heart skipping a beat, then beating faster. But he went along and closed his eyes when Roman kissed him, and he kissed Roman back._ _

__Gosh, what were these feelings he was feeling? It was like he was floating, like he could get lost with Roman forever and not care._ _

__Then Roman pulled away, opening his eyes. "You weren't half bad, Hot Topic."_ _

__Virgil wasn't sure how to respond. Then he just said, "Aww, you think I'm hot."_ _

__"Yeah, I do actually."_ _

__Virgil sat back down in the bed, running his hand through his hair. "Wait… what was that? You… you kissed me!"_ _

__"Yeah, and you kissed me back."_ _

__"And I liked it!"_ _

__"You seem surprised."_ _

__"I… we can't let anyone know about this. It would be too weird."_ _

__"What, us being a thing?"_ _

__"No, no, no, we can't be a thing! It was one kiss!"_ _

__"Yeah, and you liked it."_ _

__Virgil looked into Roman's deep green eyes. "Yeah, I did like it." He let out a shaky sigh. "I… I think I like you."_ _

__"I know I like you."_ _

__"Since when?"_ _

__"I don't know, just one day I was like, wow, this kid is good looking, caring, considerate most of the time, then I just thought, I wouldn't mind getting together with him and now here we are."_ _

__"How about this: we can be a thing, if that's what you want, but we keep it a private thing for now."_ _

__Roman nodded, a smile on his face, "I can work with that."_ _

__And they sat and watched the movie, holding hands, not wanting to let go._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: I love slow burn romances  
> Also me: GOTTA GET THEM TOGETHER AS QUICK AS FRICKIN POSSIBLE


	14. IDK

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven't updated this in a few days. My excuse: Exam Week. I'm actually supposed to be studying right now...

After the boys were finished watching the movie, Roman checked the time on his phone. He let go of Virgil's hand and stood up. "Well, I should be heading home now."

"Alright. I guess I'll show you out." They walked to the front yard, and Virgil looked around the street in confusion. "Where's your truck?" he asked.

"I walked here."

"In only five minutes?"

"I ran half the way," Roman admitted. If he says that he will be there in five, he is going to be there in five. 

Virgil responded with a concerned look and said, "You are insane, Roman, I swear."

"I know."

"If you're going to walk back, at least let me come with you," Virgil offered, "I haven't gone to the cemetery in a while, and your house is on the way. So, it's kinda convenient."

"Kill two birds with one stone, I guess."

"Close, but not quite," Virgil said and Roman rolled his eyes. "Wait here for a second." Virgil went back inside the house and came back with a plaid, dark grey hoodie. "Here, wear this until we get to your house."

"Why?"

"Because it's cold, you dumb fuck."

Roman laughed and took the hoodie from Virgil, putting it on. "Huh. Your hoodie smells like limes."

"Yeah, that's probably because I dumped lime juice on it yesterday," Virgil said, and Roman wasn't sure whether it was sarcasm or not.

"Okay…" Roman looked down at the hoodie, looking for any stain marks.

"I'm kidding, dude. It's my body spray."

"You use lime scented body spray?"

"Yeah."

"That explains a few things."

Virgil looked at him, looking slightly confused. "What thing does it explain, exactly?"

"Obviously why I always smell lime juice when I'm around you, what else?" Roman responded. "And where did you even get lime scented body spray?"

"Bath and Body Works," he admitted. "I got a gift card one day, and it was right next to Hot Topic in the mall, so I was like, 'welp, I'm already here, so I might as well. And it's not like I was going to just not use a perfectly good ten dollar gift card. Now here we are, talking about it."

Roman smiled at him. ' _He is absolutely adorable. How is it possible for anyone to be that edgy and still a complete angel?' _he thought. "You are pretty much the epitome of the 'looks like they could kill you, is actually a cinnamon roll' part of that alignment chart meme."__

__"Oh, whatever. Let's get going."_ _

__"You wanna know something?" Roman asked, putting his arm around Virgil as they walked down the street. Virgil shrugged in response before Roman continued. "I never really noticed how short you were until we kissed." He looked down at Virgil, noting that Virgil seemed about a head shorter than him._ _

__"Never insult my height!" he said, swatting Roman on the arm. "Short people are closer to hell."_ _

__"Ooh, so edgy. You sure are the spawn of Satan, aren't you, Mr... Lime."_ _

__"That one was really bad."_ _

__"Yeah, I tried."_ _

__It took them about ten minutes to get to his house. (They walk pretty slowly). Before Roman walked in the door, he started to take off the hoodie before Virgil stopped him._ _

__"You can give it back to me on Monday, if you want," he said, looking away, but Roman could still see his face going red._ _

__"Oh, alright." He gave Virgil a hug. "Bye. Oh, and you can take a flower if you want."_ _

__"Thanks. Bye."_ _

__Roman went inside his house and saw Remus in the dining room. "Hey, Rem. Still working on your homework?"_ _

__"Nah, I took a break. How was hanging out with your friend?"_ _

__"Oh, it was okay. We just watched a movie."_ _

__"Uh-huh. I'm still not sure how Virgil tolerates you," he said. "I mean, no offense to you, but you don't seem like the kind of person he'd hang out with."_ _

__"We both like musicals."_ _

__"Oh, okay, that explains everything," Remus said, clearly being sarcastic. "And where'd that jacket come from?"_ _

__"It was cold."_ _

__"Ooh, he let you borrow his jacket?"_ _

__"Yeah, what are you getting at?" Roman asked, even though he knew exactly what his brother was implying._ _

__"Oh, nothing."_ _

__Roman rolled his eyes and went up to his room, closing the door behind him._ _

__Around 7 o'clock, Roman was about to go to dinner, when he got a text. It was from Virgil. All it said was, "You will not believe what just happened."_ _


	15. Here's What Happened

When he got where he was going, Virgil put the rose down on the grave in the cemetery. "Afternoon, mother of mine," he said, dusting any dirt off the headstone. 

He sat down in the grass, looking up in the sky. "I kissed someone today. It was a boy, not sure how you would feel about that part, but hey, what're you gonna do?" He gave a weak laugh. "His name's Roman, and he's actually the first person I've ever actually  _ liked. _ I think that's why I hated him so much before. It's not that I hated  _ him _ , I guess I just hated how I  _ felt _ about him." He stood up, checking the time on his phone. It was almost six. "I should get going. I'll see you tomorrow. Well, I'll talk to you as if you're actually there tomorrow."

Virgil went home, and immediately sat down at his desk. He sat there, thinking about how the day just started with him trying to do his homework, then the next thing he knew, him and Roman were a thing. 

He stood up and cleared his head. He was kinda hungry, so he went into the kitchen to make himself something small for dinner while his dad was out. Virgil found a bag of pizza rolls in the freezer and heated them up. Sitting down on the couch with his plate full of pizza rolls, Virgil got a text from his dad.

" _ I'm on my way home. I've got some exciting news! _ "

" _ What is it? _ "

" _ I'll tell you when I get back. _ "

" _ Alright _ ."

Virgil finished his dinner and put the plate in the sink. Then the door opened. "Hey, Virgil!" he heard Patton call out.

Virgil went into the living room. And saw his dad, carrying a suitcase. "Hey, Dad. Whatcha got there?"

"I've got some good news!"

"I know, you already told me that you did. Now, what  _ is _ this good news?"

"You remember my boyfriend, Logan, right?"

"Aw, you made it official?"

"Yeah, anyway-"

"Wait a second," Virgil started to realize what was going on. "Is he moving in with us?"

"Yes! Isn't it great!?"

"I guess so," he said, though he didn't think that at all. It's not that he didn't think Logan was a good guy or anything, it's just that the two had only been going on dates for a month. "Where is he?"

"Getting the rest of his bags."

"Oh, alright."

"I'll be right back! I need to go help get the rest of the stuff."

"Uh-huh."

Patton went out the front door and came back with Logan trailing behind, both with suitcases in their hands. 

"Logan, you remember my son, Virgil."

"Good evening, Virgil."

"Uh, yeah. You too." Virgil looked back to Patton. "I'm gonna go back to my room, if you don't mind." He left, went into his room and shut the door behind him. 

He really wasn’t sure about this. It’s not like he doesn’t think Logan’s a nice guy and all, Virgil just thought that they were rushing into things. But, it wasn’t his decision. He picked up his phone and sent a text to Roman.

" _ You won’t believe what just happened _ "

" _ What?" _

_ "Logan is moving in with my dad." _

_ "Awww I knew they were meant to be" _

_ "Roman, they’ve only been dating for a month now" _

_ "Virgil, dude, you beautiful angel, light of my life, bro, this isn’t your call. *THEY* are the adults here. If they feel like this is what they wanna do, then this is what they’re gonna do, and you can’t stop it." _

Virgil sighed before typing,  _ "Yeah, you’re right, I guess." _

_ "I know." _

Then Virgil heard a knock on the door. "Who is it?"

"It’s Logan."

Virgil got up and opened the door. "Need something?"

"I just want to talk. I understand that this is very sudden and that you most likely weren't expecting this-"

"When did you two make this decision?"

"Last week. I got an eviction notice because I couldn’t pay rent on my apartment and Patton was willing to-"

"Oh." Virgil suddenly felt like an assuming jerk. "I thought- I thought that this was because you guys were trying to take your relationship too fast."

"Virgil, that's none of your concern."

"I know. I just… I didn't want anyone getting hurt. And from what I've been told, that's what happens when people rush into things."

Logan put his hand on Virgil's shoulder. "There's no need to worry, Virgil. Everything will be fine."

"Not that you'd know, but I worry about everything." Virgil took a deep breath. "Alright. Sorry if I acted a little… _ rude _ before."

"It’s quite alright, Virgil," Logan said before turning to leave. "I’ve got to go finish unpacking my belongings."

"Alright then. Bye."


	16. Uh-Oh...

At breakfast the next day, Patton stood up with excitement, as if he had just remembered something. "Oh, I’ve got something to tell you two!"

"Hmm?" Virgil was just about to bite into a piece of toast.

"I invited Roman and his family over for dinner!"

Virgil choked on his food. "You did  _ what _ ?!"

Logan looked around, confused. "Well, what's the occasion, Patton?"

"I felt like it."

Logan shook his head. Honestly, the most  _ Patton-y _ thing would be impulsively inviting someone over for dinner just because he wanted to. "What time are they arriving?"

"Five o’clock. I’m making spaghetti!"

"Spaghetti sounds good," Logan added.

~~~

Right on time, at five o’clock, the doorbell rang and Patton opened the door to see the three people they were expecting on the doorstep.

"Hi, you three!" he greeted the guests as they walked in the door. "Welcome! I believe you've met my son Virgil. And this here is Logan."

Logan held out his hand for the tall man in the black coat. "Pleased to meet you, sir."

"Likewise. I'm Janus, and that's Remus," he said, gesturing to the boy who looked similar to Roman. "And you've met my other son, Roman."

"You look familiar," Logan said, also trying to remember where he had heard the name before, and looked at the man for a few seconds before shrugging. "Oh, I'm sure it's nothing. Here, allow me to take your coat." 

"Thank you." Janus unzipped his coat and was wearing a yellow short sleeved shirt underneath. There were what looked to be scars on his arm, near his shoulder; and on the side of his neck. Logan's eyes widened in horror. Janus laughed when he saw Logan's expression.

"Sorry, sir, I was just startled," Logan said. "I, um, I hope you don't mind me asking, but what happened?"

"It's okay, it always catches people off guard at first," he said. "It was a long time ago. This teen stabbed me a few times on the way to work once. It's nothing, though."

Logan calmly nodded, but on the inside, he was panicking. He knew where he had seen Janus before. And he hoped that Janus wouldn't recognize  _ him _ . Because he knew  _ exactly _ where those scars came from.

~~~

Logan was walking home one day, and felt like someone was following him. Every turn he took, this guy was right behind him. So, he went into an alleyway, but the man was still right behind him.

Logan was kinda freaking out. What did that dude want? In his panicked state, he took out his pocket knife and quickly turned around, slicing the man in the arm.

That's when he realized what was going on. The man was unlocking the side door of a shop, which happened to be in the alley. Logan panicked more, and somehow, throughout panicking, he _ may _ have accidentally stabbed the man  _ again _ .

‘ _ Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.’ _ he thought. He looked down at the man, blood dripping from the wounds. The wounds that  _ Logan _ made. He wasn’t going to stay and get caught. No, he ran. Ran as fast as he could back home. Yes, he was rebellious, but he hadn’t  _ ever _ hurt anyone before. As soon as he got back home he shut himself in his room. 

Then there was a knock on his door. Without waiting for an answer, Logan’s brother, Emile (who was visiting from college), came into the room. "Hey, Logan, you good?"

"I’m fine." He felt like crying, in all honesty.

"You don’t look fine. You wanna come hang out with me in the living room?"

"Fine." Logan dragged himself out of his bed and sat on the living room couch. Emile turned on the tv, which was already on the news, and just as he was about to change the channel, Logan exclaimed, "Wait, go back!" Emile shrugged and changed the channel back to the news, where an unusually smiley reporter stood outside, near some police cars and an ambulance.

"Here on the scene where a man by the name of Janus Prince was said to have been assaulted by a young adult while on his way to work. The victim says that it happened too fast for him to have gotten a good look at the assaulter, and no witnesses were-" then Emile started flipping channels again.

"It’s just another story about a no-good degenerate. They’re everywhere in this town. Let’s watch  _ The Simpsons _ ."

_ 'No good degenerate _ ,' Logan shut his eyes and tried to clear his head, but couldn't.  _ 'That's all I am.' _

The next day, Logan went through his wardrobe. He stuffed band tee-shirts, ripped jeans, hoodies along with other things into garbage bags. His record collection got taped up into an old cardboard box along with old polaroid photos of him with his friends and shoved in the back of his closet. Old sketchbooks full of angsty art were thrown in the trash with crumpled up Green Day and Blink-182 posters. He almost cried while doing it, but he felt like it was the best thing to do. The best way to forget.

~~~

Logan tried to steady his breathing. "If you'll excuse me, I'll be right back," he said, then he went down the hall into the room he now shared with Patton and shut the door.

Then, he actually did start crying. Letting out short shaky breaths, he put his head in his hands. He kept muttering to himself, " _ Please stop, please stop, not now, not now. _ "

Then there was a knock on the door. "Hey, Logan, Dad sent me to check what was taking you so long."

_ 'Stop, stop, please stop, not now, anytime but now.' _

"Logan, I'm talking to you."

_ 'Calm down, calm down, just stop.' _

"... Logan? I'm gonna open the door now, okay?" Virgil opened the door and saw Logan on the bed.

"Oh, fuck," Virgil said, eyes widened, "You're having a panic attack. Shit, shit, shit. Okay, I've got this. Logan, you listening? I'm gonna try to help you."

Logan nodded, and Virgil continued, "Alright, breath in for four seconds. Good? Okay, hold your breath for seven seconds, and breath out for eight seconds. Slowly, okay?"

Logan did what Virgil told him a few times, feeling only a little better. "Sorry, I- I don't know what came over me."

"Logan, are you okay?"

"I- no. I feel horrible."

"Well, yeah, I always feel that way after-"

"No, I mean, I feel bad. For… quite a few things actually."

"Do you want me to go get Patton?"

"No need, Virgil. I just… I wish I hadn't lied to him." Logan honestly wished he had never brought up his past with Patton to begin with.

"Lied about what?"

"Thank you for your help, Virgil, but let's go back now." Logan tried to ignore the question.

"Logan, I know it isn't any of my business, but I will not let Dad be in a relationship built on lies."

"You saw those scars that Janus has?"

"Yeah?"

" _ I _ did that."

"Oh, frick."

"When I told Patton about my past, he seemed fine with it, as long as I didn't _ hurt _ anyone. I, of course, told him that I didn't."

"You've got to tell him!"

"I can't, Vi-"

"You told me! You've _ got  _ to tell him."

"I-" Logan stopped himself from arguing any further. "Could you go get him for me?"

"Yeah." Virgil left the room, and soon enough, Patton entered.

"Hey, Logan. Virgil said you wanted to talk to me?" Patton sat on the bed, facing Logan. "Are you okay?"

"No, actually." He did what Virgil had told him to do earlier. Four seconds in, hold for seven, out for eight. "I have something I need to tell you." He explained the whole story to him, barely leaving out any details.

Patton didn't look angry like Logan thought he would. He looked upset. "You… you lied to me."

"I didn't want you to think I was a bad person, Patton."

"But you still shouldn't have  _ lied _ ."

"Listen, I'm sorry, I had no real excu-" he stopped mid sentence when Patton hugged him. 

"I guess telling me later is better than not telling me at all."

"I mean, yes, but I still  _ lied _ to you."

"Yes, I know, and that was wrong, but I forgive you. And I know you won't lie to me again, right?"

"Right."

"Now let's go back to the others. They're probably just sitting there in awkward silence at this point."

"Very well."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Logan: I stabbed someone-  
> Patton: You lied to me???  
> LMAO, *that's* what makes him upset, not the fact that Logan literally stabbed a man.


	17. I'm Giving Up On Chapter Titles

Monday morning, Roman sat with Virgil in the cafeteria before the bell rang. He usually got to school fairly early, since the buses were usually early, but didn't have anyone to talk to, so he'd hang out in the library. Virgil's friends drove to school, so they didn't have to get up early enough to catch the bus, so it was just the two boys. 

"I'm so tired," Roman said, laying his head down on his backpack. "I got four hours of sleep last night."

"You got four? Lucky you, I got none. I feel like I'm going insane from sleep deprivation."

"Dang."

"Yeah. I want to  _ not _ be sleep deprived, but when someone suggests that I fix it by going to sleep, I have to use all my energy to not stab them. I'm like, hey, it's that I  _ can't _ sleep. Not that I _ won't _ sleep."

Roman nodded. "So they're basically saying, 'you can't sleep? Have you tried sleeping?' It's like looking at someone who is dying and saying, 'You can't breathe? Have you tried  _ breathing _ ?' It literally makes no sense."

"See, at least _ you _ get it."

"Apparently that's my job now. Understanding people," Roman said, before reaching into his backpack. "Oh, I almost forgot, here's your hoodie back." He handed the plaid grey hoodie back to Virgil, and Virgil looked at it for a moment before handing it back.

"You should keep it," he said, before whispering, " _ Boyfriend privilege _ ."

Roman blushed, and covered his face with the hoodie. "How are you so adorable yet still freaking angsty?"

"Hey, I am  _ not _ adorable!"

"So adorable. The smallest boy."

"Okay, now you're just being weird."

Roman laughed. "As if you're not weird yourself."

Virgil crossed his arms and turned away from Roman. "You're so rude, sometimes."

"Hey, this is how I show my love!"

"Sure."

Then, Roman got an idea. "Hey, are you free after school?"

"As far as I know, yes. Why?"

"I thought, maybe, we could go… and do something tonight."

"Oh?" Virgil raised his eyebrow. "Are you asking me on a date?"

"Yeah."

"Oh. Okay, what are we gonna do?"

"I don't know. I didn't think I'd make it this far."

"Well, there  _ is _ a showing of a musical I like down at the arts center. I looked online and they aren't sold out yet."

"Oh? Which musical?"

Virgil mumbled something that Roman couldn't hear.

"What was that?"

"Little Shop of Horrors."

"You like Little Shop!?"

"Yeah, I mean, what's better than a show about a killer plant and chopping up an evil dentist."

"Yes, but the songs don't seem like… your style."

"Half of 'my style' of music is showtunes, so stop acting like you know stuff."

"Sorry, it's just… you never just  _ tell _ me things, unless I ask."

"I didn't really think you cared about that. And if you did, you'd maybe be able to figure it out."

"And you're able to figure things out like that?"

"Yes."

"Oh?"

"Try me."

"What's my favorite musical?"

"Into the Woods, though after finally listening to Mean Girls, you're reconsidering."

"Oh, I uh… my favorite movie?"

"Beauty and the Beast. The original."

"Favorite… color!"

"Red."

"Singer?"

"Julie Andrews."

"Band?"

"Queen."

Roman thought for a moment. "Here's one you'll never get! Favorite superhero!"

"The Powerpuff Girls."

"How the heck did you-"

"Woah, that time I was just joking."

Roman paused. "Oh." He felt like reevaluating his and Virgil's whole relationship. Virgil knew so much about him, but what did he know? "Test me?"

"Okay. Favorite musical?"

"... Little Shop?"

"Beetlejuice, but good guess. Favorite movie?"

"Nightmare Before Christmas!"

"Well, that was a given. Color?"

"Purple."

"Singer?"

"Trick question?"

"Hmm, fair. Favorite band?"

"Oh, easy, My Chemical Romance."

"Actually, it's Paramore."

Roman felt like he was about to die then and there. How did he barely know anything about Virgil? Yeah, they had only known each other for a few months, but people should know each other's favorite things if they're gonna date. "How did you know so much about me, and what I like?"

"When you talk about what you're clearly passionate about, I make sure to pay attention. Because the amount of times I've tried telling other people about the things I'm passionate about and they acted like they didn't care? Well, I don't want other people to feel that way. Like the things they care about are stupid." Virgil took Roman by the hand. "Once you offhandedly told me during theatre that you listened to the Into the Woods cast recording on repeat because it was your favorite, then that you were starting to become obsessed with Mean Girls. Once when I mentioned that Nightmare Before Christmas was my favorite, you said that it's good, but you preferred Beauty and the Beast. You wear red every day, you're constantly talking about how Julie Andrews is an 'amazing and beautiful goddess', and once Talyn asked you if you could see any band right then, who would you see, and you told them that you'd see Queen."

"I… wow. I guess I kinda feel guilty for not knowing things about you. Like I feel like I don't pay enough attention to the things that you say."

Virgil looked down. "Well, I don't really talk much. I don't want to bore people, or seem annoying, or make it seem like all I talk about are things I-"

"Virgil." Roman tilted Virgil's head up towards him, and looked into his bright brown eyes. "I will never think you are annoying if you talk about the things you love. Talking to you will never be boring. Just being in your presence excites me. Okay? So, how about this: I will make sure to listen to everything you say, taking in every detail, if you promise to open up more to me. Talk about the things you like. Show how passionate you are about the things you're passionate about." He planted a kiss on his forehead. "Okay?"

Virgil was blushing. "Stop it, we're in public." Then he leaned in, resting his head on Roman's shoulder. "Not that I don't like the affection from you, you're just embarrassing."

Roman stepped back and gasped dramatically, "Me?  _ Embarrassing _ ? How dare you suggest such a thing?!"

Virgil scoffed. "Gosh, I love you."

"I love you, too."

And he meant it.


	18. Date Time

Virgil dug through his closet that afternoon to find his old Little Shop of Horrors cast shirt, from when he was in a production in middle school. It still fit, not very much to his surprise, for he hadn't grown much since eighth grade.

He went out into the living room to see Logan sitting on the couch reading a book. "Hey, Logan, if I leave before dad gets home, can you tell him that I'm going out with my friend."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to see a musical."

"With who?"

"Jeez, why do  _ you _ need to know?" 

Logan shrugged. "I thought that Patton might like to know these kinds of things."

"Fine, I’m going with Roman, is that enough information for you?"

"Yes, thank you."

Virgil rolled his eyes and went back into his room and a few minutes later, he got a text from Roman.

" _ I'm about to turn onto your street. _ "

_ "I'll be outside." _

Virgil put his phone in his pocket and went outside, zipping up his hoodie. Roman had his truck parked at the end of the driveway. "Fancy seeing you here, My Chemically Imbalanced Romance."

"Dude, you're here to pick me up."

"Well, if you insist. I'm just excited to see my first stage performance," Roman said excitedly, as Virgil got into the truck. 

"Wait, you've never seen a stage production? I thought that you were Mr. Theatre lover extraordinaire?"

"No, I can't say I have. I've listened to cast recordings of the ones which weren't made into movies, and seen movie adaptations, but nobody would ever want to go with me."

"So you've seen the Little Shop movie?"

"Yeah."

"Do you know anything about the stage production?"

Roman shrugged. "I assume it's just like the movie, right?" he asked.

Virgil laughed. "Uh-huh, sure," he lied. He gave Roman a small kiss on the cheek. "Now, let's go before we're late."

"Yes, great plan. I ordered the tickets online during lunch. Only twenty dollars each, can you believe it?!"

Virgil smiled and rolled his eyes. "Just start the car, Roman."

"I'm doing it, I'm doing it," he said with an exasperated tone. It would take them around ten minutes to get to the theatre.

Once they got there, Roman parked the car and got out, then ran over to the other side and opened Virgil's door for him. "Allow me, Panic! At the Theatre."

Virgil rolled his eyes as he got out of the truck. "How many of those nicknames do you have?"

Roman shrugged. "Probably enough to last me a couple of years," he said.

"What are you gonna do when you run out?"

"Find more, obviously."

Virgil laughed. "I can't wait for you to be too flustered to think of anything."

"Oh, you think  _ you _ can make me flustered?"

"No harm in trying."

Roman shut the door after Virgil came out. "Go ahead, try. I'm too smooth to get flustered."

"Dude, I mentioned talking about crushes  _ once _ and you were blushing like a madman," Virgil pointed out. "Also, this morning when I let you keep my hoodie."

" _ What _ ? No I wasn't…" Roman hid his face in his hands. "Shut up, Hot Topic."

"Wow, I wasn't even trying," Virgil said, "Well, we only have a few more minutes, so let's get inside before it starts."

~~~

The show was nice. All that Virgil had hoped for. Sitting in a dark theatre, watching one of his favorite musicals, holding Roman's hand. Plus, Roman's surprised look, when the musical ended in a  _ completely _ different way than he thought, was priceless.

"So, how did you like your first stage production?"

"I don't know  _ what  _ to think. The experience was nice, but that ending totally threw me off." 

Virgil rolled his eyes with a smile. "Not all stories have happy endings. Not all stories  _ need _ them." He leaned his head on Roman's shoulder as they walked across the parking lot. "Some stories need carnivorous alien plants that eat everyone."

"Indeed, we need villains to win more often so the hero's victories are more special."

"I mean, I wouldn't say  _ more _ often, but whatever you say, babe."

"Aww, I get a pet name?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Then I shall call you… Hot Topic."

"You already call me that."

"Yeah, but like,  _ endearingly _ ."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven't updated in a few days. I've been working on two other fics, some drawings, and I had been preparing for auditions for my highschool's play for the past week (luckily that's over. Here's hoping I actually get in) I know those are dumb excuses for not posting but it just totally slipped my mind! Sorry again. I'll try to stay on schedule from now on ~Aberdeen 💜


	19. Nineteen (aka, I'm done coming up with chapter titles)

Roman stared at the clock. It was four o'clock. Virgil was going to come over to his house soon. He had invited him over for a sleepover, and was anxiously waiting. Then, the doorbell rang. "I'll get it!" Roman yelled, running down the stairs, two at a time. He opened the door to see Virgil, holding a rolled up sleeping bag and a small backpack. "Hey, Hot Topic!"

"You called?"

"Yes, that's why you're here. Come on up to my room." Roman shut the door as Virgil entered and grabbed his arm, running back up the stairs. He grandly gestured at the room in front of them. "So, this is where I sleep. Thoughts?"

"Not at  _ all _ what I imagined, if we're being honest," Virgil said, looking around at everything. "I really expected it to be more…  _ you _ , if you know what I mean."

Roman looked around and realized that Virgil was right. It was very…  _ plain _ , to say the least. The walls were white, as well as the door and baseboards, and the only thing with really much of a personality was the bookshelf and the inside of his closet. He never really noticed that until just then. But, to be fair, he didn't spend that much time in his room. He usually hung out in the living room, or the den, or with his brother in his room (they usually didn't do anything but sit there and exist together, but Remus liked the company, considering he didn't have many friends to talk to). Roman sat down on his bed and continued to look over in the corner, where he had a box full of framed posters and artwork that he hadn't ever hung up.

"Yeah, I guess I just never got around to decorating."

Virgil shrugged, and examined the bookshelf in the corner, full of old scripts and several romance novels. "Hey, it's just a box in which we exist, it doesn't really matter what it looks like."

"I… what?" Roman shook his head, "Sure, what you said. But,  _ still _ , at least yours is still a nice space where you could go and feel happy with how it looks. Like it was made to fit your personality. With those dark walls and spiderwebs and band posters and whatever else you keep in there."

"I think I have a dead body in my closet."

"Weird flex, but okay." Then, Roman stood up and went to his closet. "Catch," he said, taking his old varsity jacket off the hanger and throwing it over his shoulder, and Virgil caught it. "Since you let me keep your hoodie, I thought you could have this. It barely fits me anymore at this point. And you're small enough."

"If it weren't for the fact that you just subtly insulted my size, I would totally kiss you right now."

"Wait, no, babe, I take it back!"

"Too late." Virgil had a smug look on his face. 

Roman gasped, trying to look as offended as possible. "Virgil, surely you jest!"

But Virgil sat on the bed and moved closer to Roman anyway. "Surely." He leaned forward and planted a small kiss on Roman's lips, then pulled away.

"Is that all you got?"

"That's all you're _ getting _ ."

"Oh, alright," Roman said softly. He got off the bed and went over to his closet door so he could close it, realizing that had left it open.

"I was- Roman, I was joking. You okay?" Virgil asked.

Roman stopped and turned to face Virgil. "Oh, I didn't realize. I just don't want to overstep any of your boundaries. I'd hate to unintentionally be one of those manipulative boyfriends."

"Have you ever  _ had _ one of those 'manipulative boyfriends' you speak of?" Virgil seemed genuinely concerned when he asked it.

Roman turned back around and shut the door slowly. He closed his eyes and tried to repress his memories. Then he just spun back around, smiling, pretending that everything was fine. "Shall we get back to it, then?"

"Roman, I asked you a question."

"Virgil, it doesn't matter anymore. And if it did, I don't want to talk about it."

"Alright, then…"

"Sorry, I… completely ruined the mood." Roman smiled sincerely and grabbed Virgil's hand. "Shall we?"

Virgil stood up and pulled Roman close, "If you insist." And just as they were about to kiss, Roman heard someone in the doorway.

"Excuse me for interrupting," Remus said, a blank expression on his face. "But when you two love birds are finished with what you're doing, Dad wants to know what pizza toppings y'all want."

"Remus, get out of my room!" Roman yelled, both him and Virgil stepping away from each other.

"I'm not in your room. I'm right outside. And I'm not leaving until-"

"Pepperoni, now go away, please!"

"Wow, you two sure are cute together.  _ Totally _ didn't see that one coming."

"Remus,  _ please _ , keep this a secret," Virgil pleaded.

Remus looked deep in thought, then turned towards Roman. "One dollar and I didn't see anything."

Roman sighed, and reached into his pocket, pulling out a crumpled up dollar. "Now get the hell out!"


	20. Twenty

On a warm October afternoon, Virgil sat on his living room floor, while Roman examined the back of the TV. 

"Which plug thing goes in which slot?" Roman asked, holding the cords to Virgil's old Nintendo 64.

"I think the red cord goes in the orange plug."

"There is no orange plug."

"Try putting it in the white one, then."

"The white cord goes in the white plug."

"Then I don't know!"

After receiving help from Logan, the two boys sat next to each other and got ready to play a few rounds of MarioKart. 

"I'm going to wipe the floor with you, My Chemical Bromance!" Roman said, full of excitement.

"You know, it's surprising how many band references you use as nicknames for me when you don't listen to any of those bands."

"I do research."

"You are  _ actually _ insane," Virgil said before laughing. 

"At least I'm willing to admit it." 

The two continued to talk and play the video game (Roman was right, he  _ did _ wipe the floor with Virgil, figuratively, if you couldn't tell). Then there was a knock on the door. The boys ignored it, knowing that Patton would answer it, and he did. Virgil glanced over to the doorway once while Patton was talking with whoever he was talking to. 

Patton closed the door and came back, a distressed look on his face. "Virgil? Can I talk to you in the other room?"

"Okay. Roman, pause the game for me, please."

"Okay, hurry up though, I'm going to  _ win _ the cup."

"Ha, not if I can help it," Virgil said with a smile. 

He stood up, setting the controller down. He followed Patton into the kitchen. His smile faded when he saw Patton pacing around the room. "Dad, is everything okay? What's wrong?" he asked, worriedly.

"There's someone waiting outside wanting to talk to you. He…" Patton ran his hand through his hair. "He's claiming to be Damian Gates."

Virgil's eyes widened in horror. Damian Gates was the name of his biological father. When he was younger, Virgil would ask his mom stuff about him, and she would refuse to say anything other than his name. For all he knew, the guy was dead. Though, he was pretty sure that he just left them.

"Do you want to talk to him, or should I tell him to go away? It's your choice."

Virgil took a few deep breaths. In for four, hold for seven, out for eight. Then he nodded. "Can you come with me though?"

"Yes."

"Let's get this over with, then."

Virgil started to walk towards the front door when Roman stopped him. "Hey, you okay?" he asked, standing up.

"No, not necessarily. I'll talk to you in a moment. I have something I need to take care of."

"Oh… okay then." Roman started to leave, then turned back around momentarily. He opened his mouth like he was about to say something, then shook his head.

Virgil opened the door and came face to face with a tall man, light brown hair and eyes almost identical to his own. "Good afternoon," Virgil said shortly, crossing his arms..

"Virgil…" Damian smiled, "You don't look very much like I had imagined."

"To be honest, I never really thought to imagine about you."

"Oh, Virgil, I remember the last time I saw you like it was yesterday."

"Yeah, but it wasn't. That's your problem. The last time you saw me was  _ fifteen years ago _ ." To put it  _ lightly _ , Virgil was  _ pissed _ . "Why'd you leave?"

"Your mother and I had a fight and  _ she _ decided that it wouldn't be 'safe' for you to grow up around me."

"I honestly can't believe you didn't even show up to the funeral."

"Funeral?"

"You're fucking kidding me, right?! You didn't even know that she died? She died eight _ years _ ago! And you didn't- Oh, fuck off!"

"Virgil Gates!"

"My last name is Blue, now,  _ actually _ . And I want you to stay the fuck away from me."

Patton put his hand on Virgil's shoulder before whispering, "You should probably get back inside."

Virgil nodded quickly and turned back around before Damian grabbed his arm. "Virgil, I need you to hear me out."

"Hey, let go!"

"Hands off my son!" Patton grabbed Virgil and pulled him away from Damian.

" _ Your _ son?!"

"I raised Virgil since he was seven, I think I have the right to call him my child!"

Virgil started shaking, unable to control his breathing. He was  _ way  _ too overwhelmed. Logan came out of the house at hearing the noise.

"Patton, Virgil, is everything okay?" he asked, eyeing the stranger with suspicion.

"Logan, take Virgil inside, I need to take care of this." 

Logan nodded and put his arm around Virgil and started to walk him back into the house when Damian called out, "I should have a right to speak to my own child!"

"No, you lost custody before he was even, you motherfu-"

Logan shut the door behind then before Virgil could hear the rest of the conversation. "Virgil, are you- oh shit, panic attack." Virgil nodded, practically hyperventilating at this point. Roman stood up and rushed over.

"Virgil, are you okay?" Roman asked, concerningly. Virgil shook his head and pulled Roman into a hug, tears streaming down his face. "I'm gonna take him to his room while he calms down," Roman said to Logan, gently walking Virgil back to the bedroom. "Breath slowly, Virgil. Remember 4-7-8, okay?"

Virgil took deep breaths, only calming himself a little. Roman kissed his forehead. "You're doing great. Just keep going."

He still was having difficulty breathing, but at least he could talk now. "Someone needs to call the police or something."

"Virgil, what happened out there?"

"It's my dad."

"What about Patton?"

"No, not Patton. My biological father. After fifteen years of not existing in my life, he just shows up and expects me to not be mad. Hell, he didn't even know that Mom was  _ dead. _ "

"Oh, that  _ bastard. _ "

"Yeah."

"You okay? Other than the fact that you just had a panic attack and that your absent father just showed up."

"Yeah, I guess. Thanks." Virgil gave Roman a soft kiss before getting off the bed, still trying his best to control his breathing. "I'm gonna check and see if my  _ actual _ dad's okay."

Roman took his hand and stood up too. "Good plan." 

When they walked back into the living room, Virgil saw Patton on the couch being comforted by Logan. He had a large red mark on his face.

"Dad?"

"Virgil! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. What happened after I came inside?"

"We argued and he  _ slapped  _ me, but at that point Logan called the police. Things are gonna be okay now." 

Virgil nodded, tears starting to form in his eyes again. The whole situation was too much for him. He hugged Patton, before pulling Roman in as well, Logan putting his arms around the others after. Virgil was relieved that things were okay. For the most part, at least.


	21. 21

Roman sat on the bed, blanket wrapped around his and Virgil's shoulders as they sat there and did nothing. He could tell that Virgil was still trying to recover from the events that happened just a few hours before. 

"You're sure that you're okay, right?"

"Yes, Roman. You don't need to constantly worry about me. Constantly worrying is  _ my _ job."

Roman ran his hand over Virgil's messy hair, feeling the soft purple strands. "I was gonna head home soon."

" _ No _ , we're _ cuddling _ ." Virgil had his head leaning on Roman's shoulder, but he lifted his head up momentarily to kiss Roman on his cheek. "You can't leave now."

"Oh, don't try to change my mind. I have to be home by six."

"Well, if you must. I  _ was _ going to head to the cemetery, maybe you could take me with you?"

Roman nodded. "Alright. Put on a jacket, it's cold."

"To be fair, I wear a jacket all the time," Virgil said, getting off the bed and putting on Roman's varsity jacket. "Now let's hurry up. I have some dead people I need to yell at."

"Okay, what?"

"Don't question me."

"Okay, we'll stop by my house, you can grab a flower then I'll stand there while you yell at dead people."

" _ Amazing _ plan."

Roman had started up the car and Virgil was sitting in the passenger seat, looking out the window. Roman took his hand and gave it a squeeze. "Hey, are you  _ sure _ you're-"

"I said I'm fine, Roman."

"I know what you said. I just… don't necessarily  _ believe _ what you said." 

"Okay, so what if I'm not perfectly fine?" Virgil crossed his arms and it was obvious that he was trying his hardest to avoid eye contact. "I  _ will _ be, so stop asking me about it."

Roman didn't say anything to that. He just started driving. 

When they were about halfway there, Virgil finally spoke up again. "Sorry I snapped at you. I was just stressed. I know that's not an excuse, but-"

"Virgil, it's okay."

"Oh, you seemed mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you. Listen, there is no way that I would be able to know how you're feeling right now or what you're going through, with all that happened earlier. I just want to make sure that you're okay."

"Oh. Thanks." Then they drove the rest of the way in silence.

They left the truck at Roman's house when they got out to get a rose, and walked the rest of the way. When the two arrived outside the cemetery, Roman started walking in before stopping himself. "Do you want me to come with you?" he asked. "Or should I wait out here."

"I feel like this is something I should do alone. I'll tell you if I change my mind."

"Okay, I'll be here."

Virgil walked through the gates, and was just out of Roman's view when he reached the headstone. Roman looked around, taking in his surroundings while he waited. He noticed the nicely taken care of grass, the suburban neighborhood right next to the cemetery. How cemeteries aren't nearly as spooky as people say they are. He was just taking in the nice brickwork on the sidewalk under his feet when he heard yelling.

"I get that you didn't like him, but at least  _ some _ warning would've been great!"

At hearing Virgil's yelling, Roman decided to go get him. "Virgil, I think it would be a good time to go," he said, approaching the clearly angry teen.

But Virgil didn't seem to hear him. "How did he not know you were dead!?" he yelled, sounding distraught. "I'll bet he didn't know you were sick, either, did he?! He-"

"Virgil!" Roman rushed over grabbing him by the shoulders. "Virgil, calm down."

"I'm sorry. I just… needed someone to take my anger out on."

"So you choose to take your anger out on your dead mom?"

"Yeah, who else am I gonna take my anger out on? Anyone else would, like... yell at me."

"I wouldn't yell at you."

"Yeah, but I don't want to yell at you, either."

Roman kissed the other boy's forehead. "Let's go, now."

"Yeah…" Virgil grabbed his hand, and they started walking back. 

They made it to Roman's house, and Virgil gave Roman a soft kiss on the lips. "Love you, Princey."

"I… I love you too, Hot Topic." 

Then he went inside, closing the door behind him. No one was in the living room, so he assumed that Remus was in his room. He went upstairs and knocked on the door next to his, and Remus opened it. "What do you want?" he asked.

"Do you ever love someone so much that you can't function?"

"Oh, you gay catastrophe. You're talking about Mr. Purple Emo Child, aren't you?"

"He's amazing, Remus. I don't understand how you could stop being friends with him."

"He stopped being friends with me."

"Yeah, I don't blame him. The things you say are… disturbing."

"If you're going to insult me, stay out of my room." Then Remus closed the door, but Roman could still hear laughter on the other side of the door, so he knew he didn't actually have his feelings hurt.

Roman lied on his bed, thinking of the crazy events of the day. And about Virgil. With his purple hair, which was surprisingly soft for being dyed; and his lime scented body spray, and his eyes that practically seemed to glow when in the sunlight.

And how much he really loved him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. I actually didn't like most of this chapter so I basically rewrote a huge chunk of it.  
> (I'll probably be rewriting a bit of next chapter too, so it might take a few days. Sorry)


End file.
